Lorraine (1559) thaler Dav-9386A
This specimen was lot 1136 in Sincona sale 76 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 18,000 CHF (about US$21,849 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANCE | Lothringen, Herzogtum. Karl III. 1545-1608. Taler o. J. (1559), Nancy. Von grösster Seltenheit. Vorzüglich. NGC AU Details. Herrliches Portrait. Feld der Vorderseite etwas geglättet. (France, duchy of Lorraine, Charles III, 1545-1608, undated thaler from around 1559, Nancy mint. Of the highest rarity, Extremely fine, Beautiful portrait, Obverse field slightly tooled.)"
This specimen was previously sold in Kunker sale 278 (Osnabrück, June 2016) for 28,000 euro plus fees. A very similar thaler (Dav-9386) was issued in 1569 with a slighly older bust of the duke. Both are very rare with only a few appearances in the auction archives. The province would not fall under French domination until after the Thirty Years War and was not annexed until the death of the last duke in 1766.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28.90 g.
Catalog reference: Flon 39 (plate coin), Dav-9386A.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, 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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 76, The Annemarie and Gerd Köhlmoos Collection, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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