Denmark 1545 gulden Dav-8236
This specimen was lot 1006 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €28,800 (about US$31,916 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Extremely Rare One Year Silver Gulden with Attractive Tone. DENMARK. Silver Gulden (Taler), 1545. Flensburg Mint. Christian III. NGC VF-35. Mintmaster: Jørgen Degener. EXCESSIVELY RARE one-year type with a lovely iridescent toning and a most impressive pedigree. The portrait is clearly inspired by the works of the German artist Jacob Binck who was appointed painter to king Christian, and might in fact be his work.
The highly impressive pedigree includes some of the most famous Scandinavian collectors of all times: August Christian Mohr (1775-1845), the Norwegian war commissary, merchant, and Neapolitan consul; major general Christoph Daniel von Kreber (1755-1840); printer Carl Friedrich Schubart (1759-1830) and merchant; Peter von Hemmert (1734-1810)."
Christian III (r. 1534-59) introduced the Reformation into Schleswig-Holstein while he was duke there. His attempt to do the same in Denmark after his accession to the throne provoked the Grevens Fejde (Count's feud) between the Catholics and the Protestants, in which the Protestants prevailed. Christian confiscated all the church lands in 1536 and sold them to pay off his debts from that war. Peasants on those estates, who had been protected from noble exactions, found themselves exposed to higher rents and dues.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 29.2 g, 0.890 fine silver, this specimen 28.49 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-8236; Hede-16; Sieg-46; Schou-1; Bruun-4299.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
- Siegs Møntcatalog 2016: Danmark med Omrader, 48 ed., Frederikssund, Siegs Forlag ApS, 2015.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio, Jeremy Bostwick and Henrik Holt Christensen, The L. E. Bruun Collection - A Corpus of Scandinavian Monetary History Part I, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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