Hannover 1864-B 1/2 krone
This specimen was lot 3609 in Künker sale 294 (Osnabrück, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €1,600 (about US$2,157 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG UND LÜNEBURG, BRAUNSCHWEIG-CALENBERG-HANNOVER, AB 1692 KURFÜRSTENTUM HANNOVER, AB 1815 KÖNIGREICH HANNOVER, Georg V. 1851-1866. 1/2 Vereinskrone 1864, B. GOLD. Seltener Jahrgang. Sehr schön-vorzüglich. (kingdom of Hannover, George V, 1851-66, half union crown of 1864. Rare date, very fine to extremely fine.)"
The krone and its accompanying half krone were an unsuccessful attempt in the 1850's at unifying the gold coinage of Germany. The unification of 1871 wiped out the regional coinage and replaced it with the mark and pfennig; unfortunately for Hannover, the kingdom was swallowed up by Prussia in 1866. This type of 1857-66 is rare.
Recorded mintage: 12,087 (highest mintage date).
Specification: 5.55 g, 0.900 fine gold, this specimen 5.55 g.
Catalog reference: KM 231, Divo/S. 118; Fr-1184; Schl. 442.
- 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 Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 294: Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871 | Russische Münzen und Medaillen, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
- 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.
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