Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1571 1/4 thaler
This specimen was lot 73196 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Brunswick-Luneburg: Wolfenbuttel. 1/4 "Light" Taler, 1571. Goslar Mint. Julius. PCGS EF-40. An illuminating minor from this popular "light" series, so-called on account of the candle held by the wildman. Pleasingly toned and only evenly handled. From the Robert C. Knepper Collection." This type was struck 1570-82. While it is somewhat available, it is less common than the earlier quarter thalers of Heinrich IX (KM MB86). The "light" in the nickname refers to the lamp in the wild man's hand, not the weight.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: KM MB134; Welter-591.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to: