Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken 1765-M 20 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 32894 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $870. The catalog description[1] noted, "Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Zweibrucken. Christian IV 20 Kreuzer 1765-M MS65 NGC. A truly exceptional piece, this superb offering retains its full, original luster with white brilliance--cascading across the surfaces in cartwheel brilliance. Die polish lines fill the obverse fields as a final testament to the coin's excellent state of preservation, while only scattered haymarks prevent the reverse fields from achieving true perfection, and this only slightly. With only 2 examples having reached comparable fineness in the NGC census, this is surely a treasured opportunity for the collector of perfection in the realm of German coins." Most of the issues from this insignificant state are rare but this type struck 1765-68 is available. For 1765, there is also KM 45 (20 kreuzer, rare), KM 39 (5 kreuzer), KM 40 (10 kreuzer) and KM 47 (thaler). Disentangling the various branchs of the Wittelsbach family, rulers of Bavaria and the Palatinate, is more trouble than it's worth. Pfalz-Zweibrucken, created in 1459, was merged with Pfalz-Birkenfeld in 1734, creating Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Zweibrucken, which lasted one generation until the death of Christian IV in 1775, whereupon it passed to the count Palatine. When Maximilian III of Bavaria died in 1777, the count inherited Bavaria as well, uniting all the Wittelsbach lands, which union lasted until 1918.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28.06 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 27.63 g.
Catalog reference: KM 46.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
Link to: