Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1603 thaler Dav-6285
This specimen was lot 73202 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $720. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Brunswick-Luneburg: Wolfenbuttel. Taler, 1603. Zellerfeld Mint; mm: crowned heart. Heinrich Julius. PCGS AU-55. Some minor planchet breaks are noted on the wildman side, but this early crown is otherwise free from much in the way of handling, offering an elegant tone and some hints of brilliance remaining as well. From the Robert C. Knepper Collection." This specimen seems to be a product of the Zellerfeld mint which was operated by mintmaster Heinrich Oeckeler (mintmark: crowned heart) who also worked at the Goslar mint. This type is recorded for both mints. It was issued 1600-13 and is common. The "wild man" design was popular in Brunswick and Hannover at the time and appeared on many different thalers and minors.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-6285; KM-7; Welter-645B.
- 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., German Secular Talers, 1600-1700, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1976.
- [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.
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