Birkenfeld 1858-B 1/2 silber groschen
This specimen was lot 3366 in Stephen Album sale 38 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2020), where it sold for $71.40. The catalog description[1] noted, "BIRKENFELD: Nikolaus Friedrich Peter, 1853-1900, BI ½ silber groschen, 1858-B, one-year type, About Unc." The county of Birkenfeld was originally an exclave of Baden. It and the whole of the left bank of the Rhine was annexed by France in 1792 and was part of Napoleon's empire until 1814. After the Congress of Vienna, it was awarded to the grand dukes of Oldenburg, who ruled it until the monarchy collapsed at the end of World War One. This issue was accompanied by silber groschen and 2½ silber groschen for 1858.
Recorded mintage: 60,000.
Specification: 1.09 g, 0.220 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-17.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 38, featuring the Dabestani Collection of Persian Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
Link to: