Ostfriesland (15)89 thaler Dav-9614
This specimen was lot 4320 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €1,400 (about US$1,837 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"OSTFRIESLAND, GRAFSCHAFT, Edzard II. und Johann, 1566-1591. Reichstaler 1589, Emden. Münzmeister Joest Janssen. Seltener Jahrgang. Hübsche Patina, winz. Prägeschwäche, sehr schön. (Germany, county of Ostfriesland, Edzard II and John, 1566-91, thaler of 1589, Emden mint. Rare date, handsome patina, weakly struck, very fine.)"
This windswept, poverty stricken province had little call for thalers. This type was struck 1581-92. Edzard spent most of his reign in disputes with his brother Johann and the city of Emden (he was Lutheran while the city was Calvinist). Edzard died in 1599, aged 66 years.
Recorded mintage: 8,600.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28.92 g.
Catalog reference: KM 102, Dav-9614 var.; Kappelhoff 281 var.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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