Magdeburg (1673-80) 2/3 thaler

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Künker sale 386, lot 5321

This specimen was lot 5321 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €3,400 (about US$4,394 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"MAGDEBURG, ERZBISTUM, August von Sachsen-Weissenfels, 1638-1680. 2/3 Taler o. J. Münzstätte vermutlich Wolmirstädt. Von großer Seltenheit. Sehr schön +. Aus der Sammlung "Cygnus in Nummis". Exemplar der Slg. Virgil M. Brand, Teil 4, Auktion Leu 69, Zürich 1997, Nr. 4652. (archbishopric of Magdeburg, August of Saxe-Weissenfels, 1638-80, undated two-thirds thaler, probably Wolmirstädt mint. Extremely rare, choice very fine.)

Laut Tentzel ist der Spruch SILENDO ET SPERANDO, der sich auch auf einer Medaille 1673 von August befindet, eine Andeutung auf die Hoffnung, die das kursächsische Haus auf die Gewinnung der jülich-clevischen Lande hegte, einer Hoffnung, die gerade damals durch die Mißerfolge des Großen Kurfürsten genährt worden sei. Diese Medaille ist von dem braunschweigischen Münzmeister Johann Georg Breyer geschnitten und geprägt worden. Unser 2/3 Taler soll auch von Breyer in Wolmirstädt gemünzt worden sein. (According to Tentzel, the motto SILENDO ET SPERANDO ("Silently waiting"), which can also be found on a medal from August 1673, is an allusion to the hope that the Electoral Saxon family had of winning the Jülich-Clevian lands, a hope that was shattered just then by the failures of the Great electors had been nourished. This medal was engraved and minted by the Brunswick mint master Johann Georg Breyer. This 2/3 taler is said to have been minted by Breyer in Wolmirstädt.)"

By the second half of the sixteenth century, the archbishopric of Magdeburg was completely converted to Lutheranism yet the ecclesiastical state was not abolished. Instead, it became a puppet state of the elector of Brandenburg, who either appointed himself or one of his close relatives archbishop. Brandenburg annexed it outright in 1680. This type is also known dated 1675. This specimen realized over thirty times the catalog value.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver.

Catalog reference: KM 173, Dav-633; v. Schr. 809.

Source:

  • Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
  • Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
  • Davenport, John S., Silver Gulden, 1559-1763, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1982.
  • [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.

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