Cologne 1638 thaler Dav-5171
This specimen was lot 158 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €5,000 (about US$6,487 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KÖLN, STADT, Reichstaler 1638, mit Titel Ferdinands III. Behelmtes Stadtwappen von einem Greif und einem Löwen gehalten//Doppeladler mit Kopfscheinen, auf der Brust Reichsapfel, oben Krone. Von großer Seltenheit. Attraktives Exemplar mit feiner Tönung, kl. Prägeschwäche, fast vorzüglich. (Germany, city of Cologne, thaler of 1638, struck in the name of Ferdinand III. Helmeted city arms supported by a griffin and a lion; reverse: double headed eagle with the imperial orb on its breast, crown above. Extremely rare, attractive example with fine toning, slightly weakly struck, about extremely fine.)"
The SCWC notes four different thalers from Cologne for 1638: Dav-5142/KM 30, Dav-5143/KM 31, Dav-5168/KM 347 and Dav-5171/KM 348; the first two were struck for the archbishop, the last two by the city. Dav-5171 was struck 1638, 1643-45. The example shown here is quite a bit nicer than that shown in the SCWC.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 29,03 g.
Catalog reference: KM 348, Dav-5171, Noss 393 a.
- 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 Church and City Talers, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1967.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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