Brandenburg-Bayreuth 1679 thaler Dav-6275
This specimen was lot 5360 in Künker sale 354 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,340 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRANDENBURG IN FRANKEN, BRANDENBURG-BAYREUTH, MARKGRAFSCHAFT, Christian Ernst, 1655-1712. Reichstaler 1678, Bayreuth, von J. J. Wolrab, geprägt im Auftrag von Christian Wilhelm Krohnemann, auf den 1. Geburtstag des Prinzen Georg Wilhelm am 16. November. RR Kl. Henkelspur, sehr schön-vorzüglich. (Germany, margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Christian Ernest, 1655-1712, thaler of 1678, Bayreuth mint, by J. J. Wolrab, for the first birthday of prince George William. Very rare, small mount mark, very fine to extremely fine.)"
Prince George William (b. 11-16-1678) ascended to the title of margrave in 1712. Altho the auctioneers date this coin to 1678 (as shown on the obverse), we side with the SCWC and date this to 1679, as shown on the reverse, as the prince's first birthday is celebrated, not his birth. All of the thalers issued by this state in the seventeenth century are rare, and this is no exception. It is not priced in the SCWC.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 29.2 g, 0.888 fine silver, this specimen 29,27 g.
Catalog reference: KM 297, Dav-6275; Slg. Wilm. 656; Fischer/Maué 2.220; Slg. Grüber (Auktion Künker 267) 3642.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., German Secular Talers, 1600-1700, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1976.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 354: Munzen und Medaillen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. Braunschweig-Luneburg. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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