Baden 1772-H W 1/2 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 2901 in Steve Album Auction 51 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2025), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "BADEN: Magdalena Wilhelmine and Karl August, margrave, 1771-1803, AE 1/2 kreuzer, Karlsruhe, 1772, initials H-W, very lightly cleaned, one-year type, PCGS graded UNC details." This issue accompanied a one, five and ten kreuzer. On the introduction of the convention thaler early in the eighteenth century, one thaler was 120 kreuzer. The plate coin in the SCWC shows initials S H. Karl Friedrich united Baden-Durlach and Baden-Baden in 1771. Wikipedia comments,
"He succeeded his grandfather as Margrave of Baden-Durlach in 1738 and ruled personally from 1746 until 1771, when he inherited Baden-Baden from the Catholic line of his family. This made him the Protestant ruler of a state that was overwhelmingly Catholic, however the Imperial Diet permitted this because the Elector of Saxony had converted to Catholicism from Lutheranism and had been permitted to retain control of the Protestant body of the Imperial Diet. Upon inheriting the latter margraviate, the original land of Baden was reunited. He was regarded as a good example of an enlightened despot, supporting schools, universities, jurisprudence, the civil service, the economy, culture, and urban development. He outlawed torture in 1767, and serfdom in 1783. He was elected a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society in 1747."
Recorded mintage: unknown but not common.
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: KM-124, Wielandt-753a.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 51, featuring the Howard Daniel III Collection of Asian Coins, the Almer H. Orr III Collection of World Coins and the Joe Sedillot Collection of German Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
Links: