Mainz 1795-IA thaler Dav-2434

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Künker sale 386, lot 4828

This specimen was lot 4828 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €5,000 (about US$6,461 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, 1774-1802. Konv.-Taler 1795, IA, Mainz, auf den Entsatz der von den Franzosen belagerten Stadt durch den kaiserlichen Feldmarschall Graf Clerfayt. Stadtansicht mit dem Rheinstrom und der Schiffbrücke, darüber Doppeladler//Pyramide mit Kriegstrophäen. R Vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. (archbishopric of Mainz, Frederick Charles Joseph of Erthal, 1774-1802, convention thaler of 1795, Mainz mint, on the relief of the French siege by the imperial field marshal Count Clerfayt. Obverse: City view with the river Rhine and the ship bridge, above double-headed eagle; reverse: pyramid with war trophies. Rare, extremely fine to uncirculated.)

In der älteren numismatischen Literatur wird der vorliegende Talertypus als Zwitterprägung geführt. Eberhard Link (in: Geldgeschichtliche Nachrichten 22. Jg. 1978, 264-268) konnte nachweisen, daß es sich stattdessen um einen regulären Mainzer Konventionstaler handelt, der anläßlich der Befreiung der Stadt herausgegeben wurde, möglicherweise als Prämie und Andenken für das am Entsatz beteiligte Militär. (In the older numismatic literature, the present type of thaler is listed as a hermaphrodite issue. Eberhard Link (in: Geldgeschichtliche Nachrichten, vol. 22, 1978, pp. 264-268) was able to prove that it was instead a regular Mainz convention thaler that was issued on the occasion of the liberation of the city, possibly as a bonus and souvenir for those involved in the relief of the city.)"

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. 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. The archbishopric was mediatized in 1803 and partitioned between France (which had annexed the western portion in 1797), Hesse-Darmstadt and Nassau.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 28.06 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 27,15 g.

Catalog reference: KM 409, Slg. Walther 661; Dav-2434; Slg. Pick 797.

Source:

  • Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
  • Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1965.
  • 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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