Corsica 1736 5 soldi
This specimen was lot 5123 in Künker sale 335 (Osnabrück, Germany, March 2020), where it sold for €1,300 (about US$1,701 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIEN, KORSIKA. Théodore de Neuhof, 1736. Ku.-5 Soldi 1736, Orezza, geprägt während des Widerstands gegen die Herrschaft Genuas und Frankreichs. Variante mit CINQE. T * R zwischen Palmzweigen, oben Krone, unten die geteilte Jahreszahl 17 - 36//SOLDI / · / CINQE. Von großer Seltenheit. Fast sehr schön. Aus der Sammlung Eberhard Link. Exemplar der Auktion Aes Rude 11, Lugano 1978, Nr. 717. (Italy, island of Corsica, Theodore of Neuhof, copper five soldi of 1736, Orezza mint, struck during the revolt against Genoese and French occupation, variety with CINQE. Obverse: "T*R" between palm fronds, crown above, date below; reverse: denomination. Very rare, about very fine.)"
This rare type was accompanied by KM C1 (2½ soldi). It was issued by Theodor Stephan Freiherr von Neuhoff (1694-1756), a German adventurer and soldier who briefly made himself king of the island. In 1768, the Genoese, unable to subdue the rebellion, cheerfully sold Corsica to the French, who proceeded to reconquer the island with fire and desolation.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, this specimen 3,45 g.
Catalog reference: KM C2, Brause-Mansfeld Tf. 27, 2; Gadoury 2; Varesi 10 (R3).
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 335: Bracteates from Upper Swabia and the area of the Lake Constance | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the Dr. Karl Walter Bach Collection of coins of the Austrian nobility, Special collections of Bavaria, Lubeck, Wurttemberg as well as siege coins from the Eberhard Link Collection. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2020.
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