Osnabruck 1715 1/4 thaler
This specimen was lot 1515 in Jean Elsen sale 141 (Brussels, June 2019), where it sold for €1,500 (about US$1,988 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ALLEMAGNE, OSNABRÜCK, Evêché, Charles de Lorraine (1698-1715), AR 1/4 Taler, 1715, Munster. Commémorant sa mort. D/ Ecu ovale couronné, sur la croix de Malte, posé sur une crosse et une épée, tenu par deux aigles. Le tout sur un manteau d'hermine. R/ Inscription en dix lignes. Très Beau. (Germany, bishopric of Osnabrück, Charles of Lorraine, 1698-1715, silver quarter thaler of 1715, Munster mint, commemorating his death. Obverse: crowned and mantled oval arms over a Maltese cross, a crozier and a sword, supported by two eagles; reverse: ten line inscription. Very Fine.)"
All of the ecclesiastical states were mediatized by Napoleon and handed over to his allies in 1800-06. The bishopric of Osnabrück, like its neighbor Munster, had very few Catholics and was ruled by a Lutheran prince. This type was accompanied by a commemorative eighth thaler.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen is 7,33 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, von Schrötter, Trier, 927; Schön 662, B20.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 141, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2019.
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