Metz 1551 thaler Dav-9559

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Sincona sale 47, lot 1755
Metz in 1648

This specimen was lot 1755 in Sincona sale 47 (Zürich, May 2018), where it sold for 13,000 CHF (about US$15,599 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANCE, Metz, Bistum, Robert de Lenoncourt, 1551-1555. Taler 1551, Vic-sur-Seille. Sehr selten. Sehr schön. (bishopric of Metz, Robert de Lenoncourt, 1551-55, thaler of 1551, Vic-sur-Seille mint. Very rare, Very fine.)"

The bishop and city of Metz both issued coins but the town was under French occupation from the mid-1500's, which occupation was formally recognized by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Regarding Robert, Wikipedia notes,

"Cardinal de Lenoncourt was granted the diocese of Metz on 22 April 1551 by Pope Julius III, in succession to Cardinal Charles de Guise-Lorraine, which he held until December 1555. He was the first bishop of Metz in sixty-seven years to personally take up his charge. With the Treaty of Chambord in 1552, Metz became a part of France and remained so until 1871. King Henri II himself spent three days in Metz, receiving the fealty of his subjects, and then left the Duke de Guise, François de Guise-Lorraine, as his Lieutenant-General. In January 1552 Cardinal de Lenoncourt convoked a meeting of the Estates-General of Metz, but his actions appeared to the citizens to be an effort to concentrate all the power in the city in his own hands. Their strong reaction compelled the Cardinal to withdraw the Estates to the town of Vic, just east of Nancy. On 10 April he helped to introduce a French army into Metz. He was instrumental in overthrowing the republic which had existed under Charles V in favor of the French, manipulating the elections for the Council by naming candidates and choosing the Maître-Échevin (President) himself. Cardinal de Lenoncourt resumed the coinage of money in Metz, in his own name, in 1553. He then sent a memorandum to the King, in which he requested military assistance. The King sent Marshal de Vieilleville to garrison Metz and Vic, and the Marshal quickly took the entire territory under his control. Cardinal Robert lost everything for which he had been working, and went so far as to seek the aid of the Emperor in trying to eject the French garrison from Metz. In 1556 the citizens of Metz petitioned the King of France for relief from their bishop, but Lenoncourt, who had been in Rome for the second Conclave of 1555, had already been transferred to Embrun. It was perhaps the easiest way to solve the political and military problems created by an overzealous supporter of French interests and his own advantage."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, this specimen 28.49 g.

Catalog reference: Wendling II/E/z/28, Flon 758,2. Dav-9559.

Source:

  • 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]Richter, Jürg, Auction 47, World Coins and Medals, Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2018.

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