Osnabruck 1631 thaler Dav-5670
This specimen was lot 561 in Künker Auction 424 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €7,500 (about US$10,620 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DEUTSCHE MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN · OSNABRÜCK, BISTUM Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg, 1625-1661. Reichstaler 1631, Köln. Brustbild r. in geistlichem Ornat//Verziertes, vierfeldiges spanisches Wappen (Minden, Verden / Verden, Minden) mit vierfeldigem Mittelschild (Osnabrück/Wartenberg), dahinter Krummstab und Schwert gekreuzt, oben die Jahreszahl I63I. RR Kl. Schrötlingsfehler, sehr schön. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 188, Osnabrück 2011, Nr. 1046. (Germany, bishopric of Osnabrück, Francis William of Wartenburg, 1625-61, thaler of 1631, Cologne mint. Obverse: bust right in bishop's robe; reverse: Spanish style quartered arms of Minden and Verden with the escutcheon of Osnabrück/Wartenberg impaled, crossed crozier and sword behind, date above. Very rare, edge defects, very fine.)
Der hier zur Versteigerung gelangende Taler, der das Porträt einer der führenden Persönlichkeiten der Katholischen Liga im Dreißigjährigen Krieg zeigt, zählt zu den großen Raritäten unter den Osnabrücker Münzen. (The thaler presented here, which shows the portrait of one of the leading figures of the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War, is one of the great rarities among Osnabrück coins.)"
The bishops of Osnabrück vacillated in the sixteenth century on their resistance to the Reformation and by the beginning of the Thirty Years War the diocese was largely Lutheran. Francis William imposed the Counterreformation in 1625, called in the Jesuits and started a university. All, including Francis William, were ousted by the Swedes upon their occupation in 1633. Francis William did not return until the coming of peace in 1648.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28.5-29.4 g, silver, 41 mm diameter; this specimen 29,16 g.
Catalog reference: KM 22, Dav-5670; Kennepohl 212.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., German Church and City Talers, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1967.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 424: Münster, Osnabrück, and the Peace of Westphalia | The Fuggers, Leuchtenberg, and Passau | The Collection of a German Manufacturer and History Enthusiast, Part 3, e.g., Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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