Ostfriesland (1540-66) thaler Dav-9612
This specimen was lot 3267 in Sincona sale 51 (Zürich, October 2018), where it sold for 600 CHF (about US$724 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Ostfriesland, Grafschaft, Edzard II., Christoph und Johann, 1540-1566. Taler o. J. Emden. Mit Titel Ferdinands I. Gutes sehr schön. (Germany, county of East Friesland, Edward II, Christoph and John, 1540-66, undated thaler, Emden mint, struck in the name of Ferdinand I. Good very fine.)"
This may be a more common of the very scarce issues from this windswept locale on the North Sea. Edzard II survived until 1599. In the sixteenth century, Emden was an insignificant fishing village in Ostfriesland on the border between Germany and the Netherlands (then still part of the Empire). It rose in importance during the industrialization of the late nineteenth century and received the attention of several devastating bombing raids during World War Two.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 27.63 g.
Catalog reference: Kappelhof 203 var, Dav-9612.
- 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.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Sincona Auction 51: Gold and Silver Coins and Medals; Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2018
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