Mainz 1797-C 9 pfennig
This specimen was lot 2526 in Künker sale 404 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €440 (about US$577 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DAS ERZBISTUM MAINZ. ERZBISCHOF FRIEDRICH KARL JOSEPH VON ERTHAL, 1774-1802. Die Münzstätte Erfurt. Ku.-9 Pfennig 1797 C, Erfurt. Torpassagegeld für Fußgänger oder Pferde in der Nacht. Münzmeister Julian Eberhard Volkmar Claus. Vierblättrige Wertmarke: Kurhut über Mainzer Rad, dahinter Schwert und Krummstab gekreuzt, unten Palm- und Lorbeerzweig//[drei Ringe übereinander] 9 [drei Ringe übereinander] / PFENNIG / 1779 / C. Sehr schön. Exemplar der Sammlung Horn. Erworben 2016 von Manfred Olding, Osnabrück. (Germany, archbishopric of Mainz, Charles Joseph of Erthal, 1774-1802, copper ninepence of 1797, Erfurt mint, toll token for night passage of pedestrians or horses. Cloverleaf shaped, capped armed of Mainz, crossed sword and crozier behind, palm and laurel branches below; reverse: value and date. Very fine.)"
Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal (1719-1802) was elected archbishop of Mainz and bishop of Worms in 1774. He spent most of his reign in futile disputations with the pope and struck no coinage until revolutionary French armies arrived in 1792. In 1797, the part of his domain west of the Rhine was annexed to France. His successor, Karl von Dalberg, coadjutor from 1787, was the last prince-archbishop of Mainz, which was mediatized in 1806. This pieces seems to be a token rather than a coin, which is why it is not listed in the SCWC.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, this specimen 6,99 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Gräßler 279; Schön 58 (dort unter Erfurt); Slg. Pick I (Auktion Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. 405) -; Slg. Walther 676.
- 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 404: Coins and Medals of the City of Mainz - The Prof. Dr. Eckhart Pick Collection, Part II, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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