Bohemia 1620 70 kreuzer KM-263

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Künker sale 386, lot 5501

This specimen was lot 5501 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €1,600 (about US$2,068 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Ferdinand II. 1592-1618-1637. Kipper-Halbtaler (70 Kreuzer) 1620, Kuttenberg. Münzmeister Sebastian Hölzl. Mit Wertpunze 70. R Kl. Schrötlingsfehler, sehr schön. (Holy Roman Empire, Ferdinand II, 1618-37, kipper half thaler of 70 kreuzer of 1620, Kuttenberg mint. Rare, planchet flaws, very fine.)"

Kuttenberg, now Kutná Hora, was indeed in Bohemia, but was run by the Hapsburgs as an ordinary branch mint. The town was devastated during the Thirty Years War and the mines fell into ruin. Altho this is commonly nicknamed a "kipper half thaler," it lacks the silver of a true half thaler, being an inflationary issue (1620-24) of the Thirty Years War, along with six, 15, 24, 30, 60, 75, 120, 150 and 300 groschen. Similar coins (KM 262) were minted for Friedrich von der Pfalz, the Protestant Winter King.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, this specimen 14.19 g.

Catalog reference: KM 263, Dietiker 682; Halacka 774.

Source:

  • 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, Katalog 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.

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