Lowenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg 1769-WWE thaler Dav-2394
This specimen was lot 4242 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €2,200 (about US$2,887 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LÖWENSTEIN-WERTHEIM-VIRNEBURG, GRAFSCHAFT, Johann Ludwig Volrad, 1730-1790. Konv.-Taler 1769, Wertheim. Geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit umgelegtem Mantel, am Armabschnitt die Signatur ST · (Stempelschneider Carl Christoph Stockmar)//Löwe liegt nach r. vor einer gekrönten, verzierten Kartusche mit SUUM / CUIQUE, unten Münzstättenzeichen W zwischen der geteilten Signatur W · - E · (Münzwardein Christian Franz Weber und Münzmeister Johann Christoph Eberhard). Selten, besonders in dieser Erhaltung. Hübsche Patina, winz. Schrötlingsfehler, vorzüglich. (county of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg, John Louis Vollrath, 1730-90, convention thaler of 1769, Wertheim mint. obverse: armored and mantled bust right, initials on truncation; reverse: lion seated right, a crown above, behind, a cartouche with the motto SUUM CUIQUE ("I am what I am"), initials below. Scarce in this quality, handsome patina, minor planchet defects, extremely fine.)"
Löwenstein-Wertheim was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, part of the Franconian Circle. It was formed from the counties of Löwenstein (based in the town of Löwenstein) and Wertheim (based in the town of Wertheim am Main) and from 1488 until 1806 ruled by the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim who are morganatic descendants (and the most senior line) of the Palatinate branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Löwenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg was the Protestant branch and Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort was the Catholic branch. They occasionally put aside their quarrels and issued joint coinage. Johann Ludwig Vollrath, 1730-1790, Friedrich Ludwig, 1731-1796, and Karl Ludwig, 1737-1779, overlapped and must have been co-rulers.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28.06 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 28.01 g.
Catalog reference: KM 37, Dav-2394; Wibel 126; Beck/Morschek 14.17.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1965.
- 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, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
Link to:
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