Mainz 1627-AE 2 kreuzer
This specimen was part of lot 4710 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), which sold for €160 (about US$207 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau zu Vollraths, 1626-1629. Albus (2 Kreuzer) 1627, 1628, 1629, Frankfurt am Main. Gemeinschaftsprägung mit Hessen, Nassau und Frankfurt. Dazu: Schüsselpfennig o. J. Slg. Walther 237, 239, 242; Slg. Pick 394 (2). 5 Stück., Sehr schön. (archbishopric of Mainz, George Frederick of Greiffenklau zu Vollraths, 1626-29, albuses or two kreuzers of 1627-29, Frankfurt mint, joint coinage with Hesse, Nassau and Frankfurt, and an undated key penny. Five pieces, very fine.)"
The archbishops of Mainz were prolific issuers of gold coins in the late middle ages but output dropped in the late fifteenth century, never to recover. This type is listed in the SCWC for 1625, 1628-30 and 1635-36. The albus, or two kreuzer, was a popular denomination along the Rhine as the initial issues were good silver. It was later superseded by the groschen, or three kreuzer. In Switzerland, the batzen (four kreuzer) was popular.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver or billon.
Catalog reference: KM 653.1 (unlisted date), Slg. Walther 239; Slg. Pick 394.
- 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.
- [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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