Hungary 1787-A 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 4883 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €700 (about US$963 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Joseph II., 1765-1790. 1/2 Konv.-Taler 1787 A, Wien, für Ungarn. Mit fliegenden Engeln. Vorzüglich+. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. (Holy Roman Empire, Joseph II, 1765-90, half convention thaler of 1787, Vienna mint, struck for Hungary with flying angels. Extremely fine or better.)"
One might think that this coin, being minted in Vienna, would be collected as an Austrian coin but it is filed under Hungary as the Madonna and Child reverse is distinctively Hungarian. Vienna struck this type 1785-90 while Kremnitz issued a very similar coin (KM 398.2, mintmark "B") 1782-89. Both are common with a low catalog value.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 14.03 g, 0.833 fine silver, lettered edge, this specimen 14,03 g.
Catalog reference: KM 399, J. 26.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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