Mansfeld-Schraplau (15)91-BM thaler Dav-9525
This specimen was lot 4300 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €600 (about US$787 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MANSFELD-SCHRAPLAU, GRAFSCHAFT, Christoph II. allein, 1558-1591. Reichstaler (24 Groschen) 1591, Eisleben, mit Titel Rudolfs II. Hübsche Patina, sehr schön-vorzüglich. (Germany, county of Mansfeld-Schraplau, Christopher II alone, 1558-91, thaler of 1591, Eisleben mint, struck in the name of Rudolf II. Handsome patina, very fine to extremely fine.)"
Mansfeld and its subdivisions were counties of utmost insignificance except for its silver mines which provided the material for an abundance of thalers. This type was issued 1580-91 but is scarce despite the many dates available. The line fell extinct on the death of Heinrich II in 1602. Another thaler of 1591 (Dav-9526) has the date between the eagle's wings instead of on the rim, as here.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28,85 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB70, Dav-9525; Tornau 977 c.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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