Passau 1517 batzen
This specimen was lot 628 in Künker Auction 424 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €85 (about US$120 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DEUTSCHE MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN · PASSAU, BISTUM Ernst von Bayern, Administrator, 1517-1540. Batzen 1517. Sehr seltener Jahrgang. Korrodiert, fast sehr schön. Zu dem vorliegenden Stück schreibt Hans-Jörg Kellner in seinem Buch, Die Münzgeschichte des Hochstifts Passau: "Lit. Wittelsbach 286, wo die Münze „nach Original“ beschrieben ist. Da eine Prägung von Ernst 1517 nicht recht wahrscheinlich ist und das Stück verschollen ist, muß der Jahrgang 1517 bis zum Auftauchen eines Originals fraglich bleiben". (Germany, bishopric of Passau, Ernest of Bavaria as administrator, 1517-40, batzen of 1517. Very rare date, corroded, about very fine. Regarding this piece, Hans-Jörg Kellner writes in his book, The Coin History of the Bishopric of Passau: "Lit. Wittelsbach 286, where the coin is described "according to the original." Since a minting by Ernst in 1517 is not very likely and the piece is lost, the year 1517 must remain questionable until an original appears.")"
This type was struck 1517-24, 1527-29. Fifteen batzen made a thaler. The bishopric of Passau was annexed to Bavaria in 1803 and 1805.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: 3.09 g, silver, 26 mm diameter, this specimen 2,58 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB33, Kellner 74 c; Witt. 286.
- 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]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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