Brandenburg 1629 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 4077 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,302 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRANDENBURG, MARKGRAFSCHAFT, SEIT DEM 14. JAHRHUNDERT KURFÜRSTENTUM Georg Wilhelm, 1619-1640. 1/2 Reichstaler 1629, Königsberg. Halber Spruchtaler. Münzwardein Ernst Pfahler. Von größter Seltenheit. Sehr schön. Exemplar der Auktion Winter 64, Düsseldorf 1993, Nr. 153 und der Slg. Axel Tesmer, Teil 1, Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 348, Osnabrück 2021, Nr. 2597. (electorate of Brandenburg, George William, 1619-40, half thaler of 1629, Königsberg mint. Extremely rare, very fine.)"
This type was struck 1627-29 and 1634 along with a thaler (Dav-6141). The half thaler was abandoned completely in the 1670's when the gulden (⅔ thaler) and half gulden (⅓ thaler) became popular. George William spent most of his reign in Königsberg in Prussia, where this coin was made. His subjects, left to the mercies of the pillaging armies of the Thirty Years War, were likely not grateful.
Recorded mintage: 11,000.
Specification: silver, this specimen 14,47 g.
Catalog reference: KM 124.1, Marienb. 9660 var.; Olding 28.
- 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, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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