Hannover 1859-B 1/2 krone Fr-1184
This specimen was lot 1880 in Künker sale 352 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €6,000 (about US$8,350 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG UND LÜNEBURG, BRAUNSCHWEIG-CALENBERG-HANNOVER, AB 1815 KONIGREICH HANNOVER, Georg V. 1851-1866. 1/2 Vereinskrone 1859, B. GOLD. Sehr seltener Jahrgang. Nur 790 Exemplare geprägt. Prachtexemplar. Erstabschlag, fast Stempelglanz. Erworben 1954 bei der Firma Grabow, Berlin. (Germany, kingdom of Hannover, George V, 1851-66, half union crown of 1859. Very rare date, only 790 example struck. Choice example, first strike, about uncirculated. Bought from Grabow in 1954.)"
The krone was issued in Austria (KM 2253), Hannover 1857-62, Prussia 1858-70 (Fr-2437), Bavaria (Fr-280), Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel and Saxony 1857-71. Despite being minted in substantial numbers, none are common today, most likely having been melted to make ten and twenty mark after the reform of 1871. In addition, Hannover was annexed to Prussia in 1866, depriving this coin of its defender. This half krone was struck 1857-59, 1862-66 but all dates are scarce to rare.
Recorded mintage: 790.
Specification: 5.55 g, 0.900 fine gold, this specimen 5.57 g.
Catalog reference: KM 231, Divo/S. 118; Fr-1184; Schl. 440.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 352: Die Sammlung Hermann Schwarz: Faszination des gepragten Goldes. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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