Brandenburg-Bayreuth 1549 thaler Dav-8969
The first specimen was lot 647 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €420 (about US$543 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRANDENBURG IN FRANKEN, MARKGRAFSCHAFT Albrecht der Jüngere, 1527-1554, allein seit 1543. Taler 1549, Erlangen. In US-Plastikholder der NGC mit der Bewertung AU 53. Sehr schön +. (Germany, Margraviate of Brandenburg-Franconia, Albrecht the Younger, 1527-54, thaler of 1549, Erlangen mint. In NGC-53 holder, very fine or better.)"
The second specimen was lot 3375 in Künker Auction 426 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €700 (about US$991 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRANDENBURG IN FRANKEN, MARKGRAFSCHAFT Albrecht der Jüngere, 1527-1554, allein seit 1543. Taler 1549, Erlangen. Herrliche Patina, winz. Bearbeitungsstelle am Rand, sehr schön-vorzüglich. (margraviate of Brandenburg-Franconia, Albert the Younger, 1527-54, alone after 1543, thaler of 1549, Erlangen mint. Superb patina, a little tooing on the edge, very fine to extremely fine.)"
This type of 1548-50 and 1553 joins Dav-8967 in being the only available thalers from this locale in the sixteenth century. Albrecht der Jüngere is better known as Albert Alcibiades, margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from the age of five. He was a mercenary soldier who switched sides more often than usual and died in France at the age of 34.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, the second specimen 28,55 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB37, Dav-8969; v. Schr. 748.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
- [2]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, eLive Premium Auction 426: European and German Coins and Medals from the 16th to the 20th century, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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