Mainz 1732 1/4 thaler
This specimen was lot 4783 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €2,000 (about US$2,585 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg, 1729-1732. 1/4 Reichstaler 1732, Mainz, auf seinen Tod. Äußerst selten. Vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. (archbishopric of Mainz, Francis Louis of Palatine-Neuburg, 1729-32, one quarter thaler of 1732, Mainz mint, on his death. Very scarce, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
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 a groschen (KM 258 or KM 259) and an eighth thaler (KM 260/261). Varieties exist as to the deceased's birthday; this one says "24 IVL·", others say "26 IVL·".
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 8,71 g.
Catalog reference: KM 262 or KM 263 (shown here), Slg. Walther 495; F. u. S. 2771; 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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