Mainz 1795-IA 1/2 thaler

Heritage sale 3038, lot 34579

photo courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

This specimen was lot 34579 in Heritage sale 3038 (Dallas, January 2015), where it sold for $705. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Mainz. Friedrich Karl Joseph 1/2 Taler 1795-IA MS64 PCGS. Appealing battleship gray toning with not a hint of wear. A select example, hard to locate this choice." Soldiers of revolutionary France occupied Mainz in October 1792, causing the archbishop to flee. Coalition forces besieged and captured the city in July 1793 after a heavy bombardment. This thaler and other issues of 1794-95 were likely struck to celebrate the departure of the French and to reward those involved in the relief of the city. This one year type is somewhat scarce but, like most German minors, priced much lower than the equivalent thaler. The town was annexed to France in 1795, along with the rest of the Rhineland; the archbishopric's remaining territory was mediatized and partitioned in 1803.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver.

Catalog reference: KM-408.

Source:

^[1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3038, featuring the Empire, the Santa Catarina, the Law and the Santa Maria Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.

Link to:

Mainz 1795-IA 1/2 thaler

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