Austria 1659 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 4768 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €3,600 (about US$4,953 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Leopold I., 1657-1705. 1/2 Reichstaler 1659, Wien. Von großer Seltenheit. Feine Patina, min. justiert, sehr schön. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Exemplar der Slg. Karl Hollschek, Sonder-Münzenauktion, Austria in Nummis, 1. Teil, Auktion Dorotheum Kunstabteilung, Wien, Februar 1956, Nr. 1194. (Holy Roman Empire, Leopold I, 1657-1705, half thaler of 1659, Vienna mint. Extremely rare, fine patina, minor adjustment marks, very fine.)"
The SCWC also notes 1671 for this type and Numista adds 1664. No other Hapsburg mint seems to have struck half thalers at this time.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 13,89 g.
Catalog reference: KM 1151, Herinek 782.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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