Hohnstein 1583 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 3957 in Künker sale 335 (Osnabrück, Germany, March 2020), where it sold for €460 (about US$602 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HOHNSTEIN, GRAFSCHAFT, Ernst VII. 1580-1593. 1/2 Reichstaler 1583, Ellrich. Ausbeute der Grube St. Andreas. Münzmeister Alex Sickel. RR Korrodiert, sehr schön. (Germany, county of Hohnstein, Ernest VII, 1580-93, half thaler of 1583, Ellrich mint, for the St. Andrew mine. Rare, corroded, very fine.)"
This example is a touch light for a half thaler but we'll chalk that up to the corrosion. The county of Hohnstein was a minor state, neighbor of Stolberg, Eichsfeld and Schwarzburg. The local dynasty fell extinct in 1593. The state was ruled by Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1613-34 and Sayn-Wittgenstein 1634-1701. It was later partitioned between Hannover and Prussia.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 13,48 g.
Catalog reference: Schulten 178 var; Müseler 31/90; Slg. Vogelsang -.
- Cuhaj, George S., Thomas Michael and Douglas Nicol, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd Ed. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- 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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