Mainz 1729-BIB 1/4 thaler
This specimen was lot 4774 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, Lothar Franz von Schönborn, 1695-1729. 1/4 Reichstaler 1729, BIB, Mainz oder Darmstadt, auf seinen Tod. Äußerst selten. Vorzüglich +. (archbishopric of Mainz, Lothar Francis of Schönborn, 1695-1729, quarter thaler of 1729, Mainz or Darmstadt mints, on his death. Very scarce, choice extremely 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, a death commemorative, was accompanied by an eighth thaler (KM 251) and a groschen (KM 250). Lothar Francis was also bishop of Bamberg 1693-1729 and issued coins there as well.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 7,31 g.
Catalog reference: KM 252, Slg. Walther 474; Slg. Pick -.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [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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