Livonia 1639-HW thaler Dav-4589
This specimen was lot 30290 in Heritage sale 3029 (New York, January 2014), where it sold for $15,275. The catalog description[1] noted, "Rare Swedish Possessions Issue Livonia-Latvia. Kristina of Sweden Taler 1639-HW, Riga mint, AU53 NGC. An attractive example of this Swedish possession issue with light gray toning and only a few small contact marks on the obverse. Kristina is portrayed in a lace collar, standing and facing left. Very rare grade for the type and a most popular Baltic Taler. Kristina was the daughter of Gustav II Adolf and reigned until 1654 when she abdicated in favor of Karl X Gustav. She rejected her Protestant upbringing and converted to Roman Catholicism, spending most of her final years in study in the Vatican in Rome, where she is buried. Ex: 'Colonel' E.H.R. Green; Green Estate' Partnership of Eric P Newman/B.G. Johnson." The Swedish rulers of Livonia (now Latvia) issued a variety of thalers for Riga in the seventeenth century, all rare. Sweden eventually surrendered Livonia to Russia during the Great Northern War.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: KM 22, Ahlstrom-44a, Dav-4589.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Stuart Levine and Bruce Lorich, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3029, featuring Selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection, Part III, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2013.
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