Friedland 1626 1/2 thaler KM-8
This specimen was lot 4423 in Künker sale 335 (Osnabrück, Germany, March 2020), where it sold for €16,000 (about US$20,938 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"WALLENSTEIN, Albrecht, 1623-1634, Herzog von Friedland. 1/2 Reichstaler 1626, Jitschin. Unbekannter Stempelschneider aus Mähren. Mit Stempelfehler FRIDLANDIEA am Ende der Vorderseitenumschrift. ALBERTVS · D · G · DVX - FRIDLANDIEA · Geharnischtes Brustbild fast v. v. mit großem Kragen und umgelegtem Mantel, unten in der Umschrift das Münzmeisterzeichen Sonne mit Gesicht in Klammern (Georg Reick, Münzmeister in Jitschin 1626-1630)//SAC · ROM · IMPERII PRINCEPS · 16 - 26 · Mit dem Herzogshut bedeckter Schild, darin gekrönter Adler, auf der Brust vierfeldiges Wappen, zu den Seiten je Kreuz (r). RR Hübsche Patina, winz. Schrötlingsfehler am Rand, sehr schön. Aus der Sammlung Dr. Karl Walter Bach, München. (Germany, WALLENSTEIN, Albrecht, 1623-1634, Duke of Friedland. 1/2 Reichstaler 1626, Jitschin. 14.28 g. Unknown die cutter from Moravia, with error FRIDLANDIEA at the end of the obverse legend. Obverse: ALBERTVS · D · G · DVX - FRIDLANDIEA · Armored half-length portrait almost facing with a large collar and folded coat, privy mark below (Georg Reick, mint master in Jitschin 1626-1630); reverse: SAC · ROM · IMPERII PRINCEPS · 16 - 26 · Arms with the ducal hat, crowned eagle bearing quartered arms, cross on each side. RR Pretty patina, tiny edge defect, very fine.)"
Wallenstein was born into the minor Protestant nobility of Bohemia but converted to Catholicism while attending university in Italy. Seeking glory, he pursued a military career and eventually became the commander of the imperial troops during the Thirty Years War. His successes against the Protestants aroused the suspicion of the emperor and he was dismissed in 1630. He retired to his duchy of Friedland in northern Bohemia. Imperial defeats at the hands of Gustavus Adolphus forced the emperor to recall him but distrust of his loyalty remained. He was assassinated by his officers with the emperor's connivance in 1634. He issued thalers 1626-33, all rare. After Wallenstein's death, the duchy subsided into insignificance and no more coins were issued. This coin is listed in the SCWC as a gulden but, based on the weight, is actually a half thaler. Another half thaler exists for 1626 with the reverse legend "DOMINUS PROTECTOR MEVS".
Recorded mintage: unknown but scarce.
Specification: silver, this specimen 14.28 g.
Catalog reference: KM 8, Poley 19.
- 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.
- [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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