Munster (1640) 4 ducats Fr-1765a

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Heritage sale 3096, lot 30260
H3096-30260r.jpg

This specimen was lot 30260 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $42,000. The catalog description[1] noted,

"Gorgeous Medallic 4 Ducat Possibly Issued for the Peace of Westphalia. German States: Münster. Ferdinand von Bayern gold Medallic 4 Ducat ND (c. 1640) AU58 NGC. By Engelbert Kettler(?). Struck from Schautaler dies (cf. KM 40, Dav-5596). A piece of unmistakable beauty, even if its exact purposes and period of production remain elusive. Recorded in silver as a "Schautaler" by both the Standard Catalog of World Coins and Davenport, the obverse (as holdered) depiction of the adoration of the Magi is also known from a firmly datable 5 Ducat of Ferdinand von Bayern of 1638. There it is paired with an obverse die more typical of the bishopric, showing St. Paul in the clouds above a city view of Münster (cf. Wittelsbach-1220), and known to have been designed by Kettler.

Under his entry, Davenport implies that the taler-form pieces of this design may have been issued for the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, certainly a momentous occasion that came towards the end of Ferdinand von Bayern's life, though neither a date nor direct allusion to the treaty (nor even Kettler's initials) are present on this piece. Perhaps of some interest, Wolfgang Pauker, in his study Beiträge zur Baugeschichte des Stiftes Klosterneuburg, notes that a medal of the same overall layout was among three coins or medals laid in the foundation stone of the Klosterneuburg in May 1730, though the composition is not stated (see pp. 66-69). To the best of our knowledge, this is the only such striking in gold that has appeared at auction in numerous decades, and it may well be unique. From the Paramount Collection."

The town and the region were thoroughly devastated by the Thirty Years War and never recovered. The bishop succeeded in establishing the Counter-Reformation there and holding the region for the Catholic Church. This issue was accompanied by Fr-1765 (10 ducats).

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 14 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 40 mm diameter, 15.30 g.

Catalog reference: cf. KM 40 (for taler), Fr-1765a var. (Very Rare; weight), Appel Collection-Unl., Grote-Unl., Lanna-Unl., Goppel-Unl., cf. Wittelsbach-1220 (for reverse [obverse as holdered]), Wilmersdörffer-9748 (same).

Source:

  • Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
  • [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.

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