Erfurt 1621 2 thaler
This specimen was lot 4224 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €8,000 (about US$11,006 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ERFURT, STADT Doppelter Reichstaler zu 48 Groschen 1621, Erfurt. Verziertes Stadtwappen//Verziertes, vierfeldiges Wappen (Besitzungen: Kapellendorf, Vippach, Vieselbach und Vargula) mit Mittelschild von Erfurt. Von allergrößter Seltenheit. 2. bekanntes Exemplar. Leichte Prägeschwäche, fast vorzüglich. (city of Erfurt, double thaler of 48 gruschen of 1621, Erfurt mint. Obverse: city arms; reverse: quartered arms of Kapellendorf, Vippach, Vieselbach and Vargula with the escutcheon of Erfurt. Supremely rare, two examples known, slightly weakly struck, about extremely fine.)"
This example was struck from different dies from the single thaler we show here (Dav-5263), which has initials "AW" and lacks the "(48 gr)" at the bottom of the reverse. The reported weight of this supposed double thaler, however, is of a single thaler. The town was occupied by the Swedish army 1631-48 during the Thirty Years War and issued many coins during that time.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 58 g, silver, this specimen 28,32 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Dav-5263 (as a single thaler); Leitzmann see 515 (with date 1522); Slg. Kraaz -; Gräßler/Walde -.
- 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, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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