Mainz 1637-BS 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 4871 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €3,000 (about US$3,877 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Anselm Casimir Wamboldt von Umstadt, 1629-1647. 1/2 Reichstaler 1637, Mainz. Von großer Seltenheit. Sehr schön. Aus der Sammlung Heinz Beaury. Exemplar der Slg. Dr. Rudolph Walther, Auktion Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. 275, Frankfurt/Main 1971, Nr. 257 und der Auktion Münzauktionsgesellschaft Wien (Peter Sauer) 1, Wien 1985, Nr. 799. (archbishopric of Mainz, Anselm Casimir Wamboldt von Umstadt, 1629-47, half thaler of 1637, Mainz mint. Extremely rare, 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 of 1637 is extremely rare and accompanied a scarce thaler (Dav-5548).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 14.08 g.
Catalog reference: KM 69, Slg. Walther 257 (this example); Slg. Pick -.
- 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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