Mainz 1729-BIB groschen
This specimen was lot 4777 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €120 (about US$155 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Lothar Franz von Schönborn, 1695-1729. Groschen 1729, BIB, Mainz oder Darmstadt, auf seinen Tod. Fast vorzüglich. (archbishopric of Mainz, Lothar Francis of Schönborn, 1695-1729, groschen of 1729, Mainz or Darmstadt mints, on his death. About 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 quarter thaler (KM 252). Lothar Francis was also bishop of Bamberg 1693-1729 and issued coins there as well.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 1,93 g.
Catalog reference: KM 250, Slg. Walther 476; 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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