Prussia 1544 3 groschen
This specimen was lot 3098 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $156. The catalog description[1] noted, "PRUSSIA: Albrecht, 1525-1568, AR 3 groschen, rare low collar variety, lovely original toning and a nice strike, XF, R, ex Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection." This type was struck 1535-46, 1550, 1558 and was intended to pass for one eighth thaler. An earlier version (KM MB5.1) was struck 1530-31 and 1534.
Wikipedia comments, "Albert of Prussia (German: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 1490 – 20 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secularized state that emerged from the former Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. Albert was the first European ruler to establish Lutheranism, and thus Protestantism, as the official state religion of his lands. He proved instrumental in the political spread of Protestantism in its early stage, ruling the Prussian lands for nearly six decades (1510–1568)."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.7 g, silver, 22 mm diameter, this specimen 2.58 g.
Catalog reference: Iger-Pr.44.1, KM MB5.2.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., Thomas Michael and Douglas Nicol, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd Ed. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 50, featuring selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection, the Hakim Hamidi Collection, the Almer H. Orr III Collection and the Solar Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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