Hohnstein 1620 12 kreuzer KM-17

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Stack's Bowers November 2022 Collectors Choice sale, lot 74647
SB1122-74647r.jpg
Hohnstein in 1789, as part of Hannover and Prussia

This specimen was lot 74647 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $456. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Hohnstein. 12 Kreuzer (Kipper), 1620. Uncertain Mint. Friedrich Ulrich (of Brunswick). PCGS MS-62. A RARE one-year type, this mostly gray, nearly-Choice minor dazzles with some enchanting iridescence and hints of brilliance accentuating the devices. From the Robert C. Knepper Collection." 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. The kipperzeit of 1618-23 saw the minor coinage of Germany inflated by about seven or eight to one as the princes of the empire geared up for the Thirty Years War. Some claim this inflationary period wreaked more havoc than the marching, fighting and pillaging of the armies. The duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel seems to have been an enthusiastic participant as we see dozens of varieties of kipper 12 and 24 kreuzer in the listings, including KM 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 39. The duke carefully did not tamper with the major coins, the thaler and the ducat, perhaps to avoid angering the wealthier classes who used those denominations. He also likely issued these in the name of the county of Hohnstein to maintain distance between himself and the proceedings.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, likely debased.

Catalog reference: KM-17.

Source:

  • Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
  • [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The November 2022 Collectors Choice Ancient & World Coins Auction, Featuring the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

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