Osnabruck (1662)-HS 4 thaler Dav-LS228
This specimen was lot 39 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €38,000 (about US$49,298 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG UND LÜNEBURG, BRAUNSCHWEIG-LÜNEBURG, Ernst August, 1679-1698, seit 1662 Bischof von Osnabrück. Löser zu 4 Reichstalern o. J. (1662), Zellerfeld. Ohne Wertpunze; Münzmeister Henning Schlüter. Fünffach behelmtes, 12feldiges Wappen mit Osnabrücker Mittelschild, unten zu den Seiten des Wappens Münzmeisterzeichen H - S //Stadtteilansicht von Osnabrück mit der Petersburg, der Neuen Mühle und der Johanniskirche, davor die Hase, oben ein Schwert mit dem Braunschweiger Roß als Griff, gekreuzt mit einem Bischofsstab, in dessen Krümmung das Osnabrücker Rad zu sehen ist. Von größter Seltenheit. Feine Patina, leichte Überprägungsspuren, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Exemplar der Auktion Schulten + Co. Köln, April 1984, Nr. 943 und der Preussag Collection, Auktion London Coin Galleries/Künker 1, London 2015, Nr. 205. (Germany, duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg, Ernest August, 1679-98, bishop of Osnabruck since 1662, undated quadruple thaler, circa 1662, Zellerfeld mint. Obverse: five helmeted, twelve-fold arms with Osnabruck escutcheon and initials below; reverse: city view of Osnabrück with the Petersburg, the New Mill and the St. John's Church, in front of it the hare, above a sword with the Brunswick horse as a handle, crossed with a bishop's crook, in the curvature of which the Osnabrück wheel can be seen. Extremely rare, fine patina, traces of smoothing, very fine to extremely fine.)"
Between 1532 and 1802 the bishopric alternated between a Catholic and a Lutheran. Ernest Augustus was duke (and later elector) of Brunswick-Luneburg-Calenberg. The bishopric was later merged with the bishopric of Munster and both were annexed to Hannover in 1803.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 115.9 g, silver, 85 mm diameter, this specimen 113,85 g.
Catalog reference: KM 91; Welter Nachtrag 1885 B (with value punched in); Dav-LS228, Duve 2 (with value punched in); Preussag Collection (Auktion London Coin Galleries/Künker 1) 205 (this coin).
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., Large Size Silver Coins of the World, 16th-19th Centuries, 3rd Ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1991.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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