Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle 1654-LW 4 thaler Dav-LS155
This specimen was lot 4170 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €6,500 (about US$8,942 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG-LÜNEBURG-CELLE, FÜRSTENTUM Christian Ludwig, 1648-1665. Löser zu 4 Reichstalern 1654, Clausthal. Mit Wertpunze. RR Min. Schrötlingsfehler, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 110, Osnabrück 2006, Nr. 4452. (duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle, Christian Louis, 1648-65, quadruple thaler of 1655, Clausthal mint, with value punched in. Very rare, minor planchet flaws, very fine to extremely 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. This design was also used on three (Dav-LS156), five (Dav-LS154) and eight thalers (Dav-LS152). It also comes without the mintmaster's initials (Dav-LS155a).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 115.2 g, silver, this specimen 115,38 g.
Catalog reference: KM 231, Dav-LS155; Duve 3 II; Welter 1484; Preussag Collection (Auktion London Coin Galleries/Künker 1) 143.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., Large Size Silver Coins of the World, 16th-19th Centuries, 3rd Ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1991.
- 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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