Lubeck 1678 1/16 thaler
This specimen was lot 11243 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Copenhagen, June 2026), where it sold for €69 (about US$80). The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Lübeck (Bishopric). 1/16 Taler, 1678. August Friedrich. NGC EF-45. From the L.E. Bruun Collection." This is a one year type.
The bishopric of Lübeck was established in the twelfth century. Like most of northern Germany, including the separate free city of Lübeck, it went over to Lutheranism in the mid-sixteenth century and all its bishops were Lutherans after 1586. Künker comments,
August Friedrich, *1646, war der Sohn des Herzogs Friedrich III. von Holstein-Gottorp. Er wurde am 6. Juni 1656 zum Koadjutor und 1666, nachdem Christian Albrecht verzichtet hatte, zum Bischof von Lübeck gewählt. 1686 vermählte er sich mit Christine, Tochter des Herzogs August von Sachsen-Weissenfels. Wegen seiner schwachen Gesundheit lebe er still und zurückgezogen in Eutin. Der Streit zwischen dem König von Dänemark und den Herzögen von Holstein berührte sein Land kaum. August Friedrich starb in der Nacht zum 2. Oktober 1705 in Eutin. (Augustus Frederick, born 1646, was the son of duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp. He was made coadjutor of the bishopric in 1656 and bishop in 1666 after Christian Albrecht abdicated. In 1686, he married Christine, daughter of duke Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels. Always in poor health, he led a reclusive life in Eutin and avoided the controversy between the king of Denmark and the duke of Holstein. He died quietly in 1705.)"
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.32 g, billon, 19 mm diameter, this specimen 1.47 g.
Catalog reference: KM-60; Bruun-15025.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction - Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, the Richard Margolis Collection and the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.
Link to:
- bishop of Lübeck 1678 ⅔ thaler, monogram obverse
- bishop of Lübeck 1678 ⅔ thaler, bust obverse
- bishop of Lubeck 1688 ducat Fr-1507
- Coins and currency dated 1678