Bavaria 1747 maximilian d'or Fr-242
This specimen was lot 3944 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €1,900 (about US$2,493 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BAYERN, HERZOGTUM, SEIT 1623 KURFÜRSTENTUM, Maximilian III. Joseph, 1745-1777. Max d'or 1747, München. GOLD. Seltener Jahrgang. Hübsche Goldpatina, min. justiert, fast vorzüglich. (Germany, electorate of Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, 1745-77, max d'or of 1747, Munich mint. Rare date, handsome patina, light adjustment marks, about extremely fine.)"
The eighteenth century saw a fad for absolutist rulers issuing gold coins named after themselves. The most important was the French louis d'or introduced by Louis XIII and issued until the French Revolution in 1789. In Prussia, Frederick the Great minted the friedrichs d'or and Denmark alternated between frederiks d'or and christians d'or depending on who held the throne. In Bavaria, the carolin d'or superseded the maximilian d'or in 1726 but was minted only until 1737 along with half and double carolin d'or. A maximilian d'or was ten thalers. An imperial decree of 1736 banned the carolin d'or by reason of the low fineness of gold. In 1747, the elector resumed the issue of the maximilian d'or at the old standard. This type was struck again in 1751-52 and 1767.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.65 g, 0.900 fine gold, this specimen 6.39 g.
Catalog reference: KM 495, Fr-242; Hahn 315; Witt. 2154.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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