Halberstadt 1525 thaler Dav-9206
This specimen was lot 72 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €2,800 (about US$3,617 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Halberstadt, BISTUM Albrecht V. von Brandenburg, 1513-1545. Taler 1525. Von großer Seltenheit. Hübsche Patina, leichte Oberflächenkorrosion, sehr schön. (bishopric of Halberstadt, Albrecht of Brandenburg, 1513-45, thaler of 1525, of the greatest rarity, nice patina, light spots of corrosion, very fine.)"
Another scarce one year type. Albrecht, who was already in debt for his seats as archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of Halberstadt, took out a loan to finance the fees he paid the pope for the throne of Mainz. He attempted to pay off the loan by selling indulgences, raising the ire of an obscure monk named Martin Luther. The last bishop of Halberstadt resigned in 1479, the diocese being ruled by administrators thereafter. The job was the property of the Hohenzollerns 1513-66. The diocese converted to Lutheranism in 1540 and was administered by Protestants until its annexation by Brandenburg in 1648.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Besser/Brämer/Bürger 40.04; Dav-9206.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
Link to: