Magdeburg 1618 thaler Dav-5512
This specimen was lot 439 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €2,600 (about US$3,359 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Magdeburg, STADT Reichstaler 1618, mit Titel von Matthias II. Von großer Seltenheit. Winz. Schrötlingsfehler am Rand, sehr schön. Exemplar der Auktion Frankfurter Münzhandlung 144, Frankfurt/Main 1995, Nr. 1008. (Germany, city of Magdeburg, thaler of 1618, in the name of Matthias II. Of the greatest rarity, minor edge cracks, very fine. From Auktion Frankfurter Münzhandlung 144, lot 1008.)"
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 rare type was issued by the city, not the archbishop.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-5512, v. Schr. 1041, KM 221.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., German Church and City Talers, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1967.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
Link to: