Bavaria 1772 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 3554 in Künker sale 335 (Osnabrück, Germany, March 2020), where it sold for €1,900 (about US$2,486 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BAYERN, HERZOGTUM, SEIT 1623 KURFÜRSTENTUM, SEIT 1806 KÖNIGREICH: Maximilian III. Joseph, 1745-1777. 1/2 Konv.-Taler 1772. Halber Schulpreistaler. Geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit Hermelin und Orden//Minerva sitzt fast v. v. in der erhobenen Rechten Kranz, in der Linken Lanze, l. Schild, r. Eule. Äußerst selten in dieser Erhaltung. Herrliche Patina, Erstabschlag, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. Die im Handel vorkommenden Exemplare dieser seltenen Schulprämie sind fast immer gelocht. (Germany, electorate of Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, 1745-77, half convention thaler of 1772, school prize. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: Minerva, seated, holding a wreath and a lance. Very rare in this condition. Beautiful patina, first strike, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
Being a school prize and not a coin, this half thaler is not listed in the SCWC. It likely circulated anyway.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 14.03 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 13,99 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Hahn 444.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 335: Bracteates from Upper Swabia and the area of the Lake Constance | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the Dr. Karl Walter Bach Collection of coins of the Austrian nobility, Special collections of Bavaria, Lubeck, Wurttemberg as well as siege coins from the Eberhard Link Collection. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2020.
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