Pfalz 1671-IL thaler Dav-7155
This specimen was lot 181 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,152 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"PFALZ, KURFÜRSTENTUM, Karl Ludwig, 1648-1680. Reichstaler 1671, Heidelberg, auf die Vermählung seines Sohnes Karl mit Wilhelmine Ernestine von Dänemark am 20. September in Heidelberg. Von großer Seltenheit. Feine Patina, sehr schön. Exemplar der westfälischen Privatsammlung „Mehrfachportraits auf Münzen und Medaillen". (Germany, electorate of the Palatinate, Charles Louis, 1648-80, thaler of 1671, Heidelberg mint, on the wedding of his son to Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark on September 20 in Heidelberg. Extremely rare, fine patina, very fine.)
Wilhelmine Ernestine war die dritte Tochter des Königs Friedrich III. von Dänemark und Norwegen und dessen Gemahlin Sophia Amalia, Tochter des Herzogs Georg von Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Calenberg. Sie verlobte sich am 23. April 1670 in Kopenhagen mit dem Kurprinzen Karl von der Pfalz und heiratete ihn am 20. September 1671 in Heidelberg. Das Paar war sich von Anfang an nicht zugeneigt, und die Ehe blieb kinderlos. Karl folgte am 28. August 1680 seinem Vater Karl Ludwig als Kurfürst auf den Thron, starb jedoch nach nicht einmal fünf Jahren Regentschaft und ließ Wilhelmine Ernestine als Witwe zurück. Wegen fehlender Erben starb die Linie Simmern aus, und die Kurpfalz fiel an die katholischen Neuburger. (Wilhelmine Ernestine was the third daughter of King Friedrich III of Denmark and Norway and his wife Sophia Amalia, daughter of Duke George of Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Calenberg. She became engaged to Elector Prince Charles of the Palatinate on April 23, 1670 in Copenhagen and married him on September 20, 1671 in Heidelberg. The couple were not fond of each other from the start and the marriage remained childless. Karl succeeded his father Karl Ludwig to the throne as elector on August 28, 1680, but died after less than five years of regency, leaving Wilhelmine Ernestine as a widow. Due to a lack of heirs, the Simmern line died out and the Electoral Palatinate fell to the Catholic Neuburg line.)"
Another rare one year type. The elector was exiled from his domain 1632-48 and returned only after the end of the Thirty Years War. His successor, Charles II, who is depicted on this thaler, died in 1685, aged 34 years.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 26,60 g.
Catalog reference: KM 106, Dav-7155; Slg. Memmesh. 2363; Slg. Kömmerling (Auktion UBS 65) 293.
- 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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