Livonia 1630-MW thaler Dav-4588
This specimen was lot 434 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €13,000 (about US$16,865 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BALTIKUM, RIGA, STADT. Unter Schweden. Gustav II. Adolf, 1621-1632. Reichstaler 1630. Münzmeister Martin Wulff. Zwei Löwen halten das Stadtwappen von Riga, darüber die Stadtschlüssel, zu den Seiten die geteilte Jahreszahl 16 - 30, unten die geteilte Münzmeistersignatur M - W//Gekröntes und geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit geschultertem Schwert in der Rechten und Reichsapfel in der Linken. Ahlström 5; RR Hübsche Patina, attraktives, sehr schönes Exemplar. (Baltic States, city of Riga, under Swedish rule, Gustav II Adolf, 1621-32, thaler of 1630. Obverse: Two lions support the arms of Riga, above them the city keys, on the sides the divided year number 16 - 30, below the divided mint master's signature M - W; reverse: Crowned and armored bust right with a shouldered sword in his right hand and an imperial orb in his left. Very rare, handsome patina, attractive, very nice example.)"
This rare type sports the portrait of Gustavus Adolphus, savior of the Protestants during the Thirty Years War. It was also struck in 1631. Riga later struck thalers for queen Christina and Karl XI. Sweden was forced to surrender Riga and Livonia to Russia in 1720, at the end of the Great Northern War.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28.60 g.
Catalog reference: KM 20, Dav-4588; Haljak 1455 (R).
- Bjorne Ahlstrom, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokforlaget AB, 1976.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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