Brunswick-Luneburg-Calenberg 1685-RB 4 thaler Dav-LS241
This specimen was lot 4187 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €4,400 (about US$6,053 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG-CALENBERG-HANNOVER, AB 1692 KURFÜRSTENTUM HANNOVER, AB 1815 KÖNIGREICH HANNOVER Ernst August, 1679-1698, seit 1662 Bischof von Osnabrück. Löser zu 4 Reichstalern 1685, Zellerfeld. Ausbeute der Grube Lautenthals Glück. Mit Wertpunze. RR Rand und Felder bearbeitet, sehr schön. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 69, Osnabrück 2001, Nr. 4711. (duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, 1679-98, since 1662 bishop of Osnabrück, quadruple thaler of 1685, Zellerfeld mint, for the Lautenthals Glück mine, with value punched in. Very rare, tooling on the edge and in the fields, very fine.)"
Christian Ludwig was duke in Calenberg 1641-48 and in Celle 1648-65. His younger brother Georg Wilhelm was duke in Calenberg 1648-65 and in Celle 1665-1705. The last brother, Ernst August, was duke in Calenberg 1679-98 and elector of Hannover 1692-98. Ernst August's son George inherited Calenberg and Hannover in 1698, Celle in 1705 and the throne of Great Britain in 1714. A similar quadruple thaler was struck in Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel for this mine (Dav-LS110).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 101.6 g, silver, 75 mm diameter, this specimen 102,61 g.
Catalog reference: KM 329, Dav-LS241; Duve 6; Müseler 10.4.3/18; Welter 1928; Preussag Collection (Auktion London Coin Galleries/Künker 1) 216; Kluge (Slg. Preussag) 4.
- 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.
- Davenport, John S., Large Size Silver Coins of the World, 16th-19th Centuries, 3rd Ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1991.
- [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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