Magdeburg 1638-PS ducat Fr-1557
This specimen was lot 396 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €3,600 (about US$4,651 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Magdeburg, ERZBISTUM Domkapitel, 1635-1638. Dukat 1638, Halle. Variante mit der geteilten Jahreszahl 16 - 38 unten zu den Seiten des Wappens und die oben links vom Helm; die Vorderseitenumschrift endet mit MAGDEBÜ. GOLD. Sehr seltene Variante. Sehr schön-vorzüglich. (Germany, archbishopric of Magdeburg, ducat of 1638, Halle mint, variety with the date divided by the shield and "MAGDEBÜ" in obverse legend. Very fine to extremely fine.)"
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. In 1638, when the new archbishop was installed, thalers were issued in numerous varieties (Dav-5495, -5495A, -5495B, -5495C, -5495D, -5495E, -5496, -5496A, -5496B, -5496C, -5497, -5498) along with this ducat.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.47 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-1557; v. Schr. - (zu 716); Zepernick - (zu 52 and 349), KM 119.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [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.
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