Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1757 schilling
This specimen was lot 2234 in Künker Auction 425 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €2,200 (about US$3,115 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DEUTSCHE MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN · MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN, HERZOGTUM, SEIT 1815 GROSSHERZOGTUM Friedrich, 1756-1785. 1 Schilling 1757, Schwerin. Von allergrößter Seltenheit. Prachtexemplar. Herrliche Patina, fast Stempelglanz . (Germany, duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick, 1756-85, schilling of 1757, Schwerin mint. A true rarity. A magnificent specimen. Magnificent patina, almost uncirculated.)
Kunzel bezeichnet das vorliegende Stück als Probeprägung. 1983 schreibt er hierzu: "Diese Proben gelangten infolge des Siebenjährigen Krieges nicht mehr zur Ausgabe, sondern wurden samt den vorgefertigten Münzplatten der Stadt Lübeck mit der Maßgabe verkauft, sie einzuschmelzen". (Kunzel describes this piece as a proof. In 1983, he wrote: "As a result of the Seven Years' War, these proofs were never issued, but were sold along with the prefabricated coin plates to the city of Lübeck with the stipulation that they would be melted down.")"
We have no idea why the obverse device is a crowned cow's head. This example realized 41 times the catalog value. The duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin lies on the Baltic Sea north of Berlin and east of Hamburg. It is one of the poorer parts of Germany and coinage from this locale is scanty and rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: billon, this specimen 1,21 g.
Catalog reference: KM 185, Kunzel P 353; Slg. Gaettens -.
- 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 425: Gold coins from the Medieval and Modern Times, from the Mohr family collection, e.g. | Silver coins, e.g. highlights of medallic art | German coins after 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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