Pfalz 1621 thaler Dav-7149
This specimen was lot 180 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €7,500 (about US$9,730 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"PFALZ, KURFÜRSTENTUM, Friedrich V. 1610-1623. Reichstaler 1621, Heidelberg. R Attraktives Exemplar mit hübscher Patina, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Erworben am 23. Mai 1963 von Dr. Kristian Turnwald (mit altem Beschreibungskärtchen). (electorate of the Palatinate, Frederick V, 1610-23, thaler of 1621, Heidelberg mint. Rare, attractive example with handsome patina. Purchased in 1963 from Kristian Turnwald.)"
Frederick, nicknamed the "Winter King", was briefly king of Bohemia before being overthrown at the battle of the Whie Mountain in 1620. He spent the rest of his life in exile, dying in 1632, aged 36 years, deprived of all his titles. He issued three very similar thalers in 1621, Dav-7148, Dav-7149 and Dav-7150, featuring the Bohemian lion and his new title as king, all rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 27.94 g.
Catalog reference: KM 71, Dav-7149; Slg. Memmesh. - (see 2280); Herinek 11; Slg. Kömmerling (Auktion UBS 65) 194.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., German Secular Talers, 1600-1700, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1976.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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