Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Zweibrucken 1763-M 5 kreuzer
This specimen was lot 5367 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €1,100 (about US$1,422 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"PFALZ-BIRKENFELD-ZWEIBRÜCKEN, Christian IV. 1735-1775. 5 Kreuzer 1763, Zweibrücken. Sehr selten in dieser Erhaltung. Prachtexemplar. Vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. (county of Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Zweibrucken, Christian IV, 1735-75, five kreuzer of 1763, Zweibrucken mint. Very scarce in this quality, outstanding example, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
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 elector 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. This type was struck 1763-65 and is rather expensive for such an insignificant coin.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 2.71 g.
Catalog reference: KM 39, Slg. Schuler 88; Slg. Memmesh. -; Slg. Kömmerling (Auktion UBS 65) 795.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.
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