Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1620 5 thaler Dav-LS45
This specimen was lot 30232 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $19,200. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Incredibly Elusive Brunswick 5 Taler. German States: Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Friedrich Ulrich 5 Taler 1620 MS61 NGC, Zellerfeld mint. Hans Laffers as mintmaster. With value stamp "5" on reverse. Obv. Duke Friedrich Ulrich riding hose to right. Rev. Helmeted coat of arms, with date above in Roman numerals and a value below near the reverse edge at 6 o'clock. An expansive and alluringly toned quintuple taler depicting the Duke Friedrich Ulrich on horseback with an intricately crafted coat of arms design to the reverse. Sharp highpoint motifs confirm the Mint State condition recognized by NGC, with a soft steel patina uniformly laid upon the surfaces yielding a distinctive eye appeal for a coin of over 400 years in age. Decidedly scarce at this level of preservation, the offering is one of only three examples seen by NGC to date and the only such specimen deemed uncirculated. Ex. UBS Gold & Numismatics Auction 55 (September 2002, Lot 2357). From the Paramount Collection."
The dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel specialized in the production of these enormous multiple thalers. These dies were also used to make quadruple thalers (KM 227) and sextuple thalers (KM 228), the denomination being punched in each specimen.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 144.63 g.
Catalog reference: KM 227, Dav-LS45, Duve-6 (RR), Knyphausen-211, Preussag Collection-27, Welter-1015.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
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