Prussia 1719-HFH 1/8 thaler

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Künker sale 353, lot 3316
Upper Gelderland in 1789, from Hammond's atlas

This specimen was lot 3316 in Künker sale 353 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €440 (about US$612 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRANDENBURG-PREUSSEN, PREUSSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich Wilhelm I. der Soldatenkönig, 1713-1740. 1/8 Reichstaler 1719, HFH, Berlin. Prägung für das Herzogtum Geldern. Münzmeister Heinrich Friedrich Halter. R Sehr schön. Erworben am 1.9.1973. (Germany, kingdom of Prussia, Frederick William I, the Soldier King, 1713-40, one-eighth thaler of 1719, Berlin mint. Struck for the duchy of Gelderland. Rare, very fine.)"

This rare one year type was accompanied by a 1/16 thaler, a 1/4 thaler and a 1/2 thaler, as well as a thaler the year before. The series was struck for Prussian Gelderland, a small province on the border with the Netherlands.

After the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700, the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) broke out. Charles left the Spanish dominions to Philip of Anjou in his will in the hope that they would not be partitioned. In this, he was backed by Philip's grandfather, Louis XIV, king of France. The Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg) was an anti-French alliance made in 1689 and was made up of the Dutch Republic, England, and Austria which disbanded after the Nine Years war in 1697. This alliance was reformed prior to the War of Spanish Succession by the Treaty of the Hague in 1701 and included the same parties. All feared French dominance in Europe. In 1702, Prussia joined. At the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, Prussia was rewarded with a section of Upper Guelders that was previously part of the Spanish Netherlands.

Ruling Authorities

  • Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, Duke of Prussian Gelderland from 1713-1740.

Obverse

  • Obverse description: Crown above three shields (Hohenzollern scepter left; Prussian eagle middle; Gueldrian opposing lions right), ribbons from crown going through hoops at top of shields, date divided by crown and mint master's initials below shields.
  • Obverse inscription: 1719 / H·F·H
  • Obverse inscription unabridged: 1719 / Heinrich Friedrich Halter

Reverse

  • Reverse description: Value with inscription in wreath of palm branches.
  • Reverse inscription: 1/8 MON: DVCAT: GELD:
  • Reverse inscription unabridged: 1/8 (thaler) Moneta Ducatus Geldriensis
  • Reverse inscription translated: 1/8 thaler, Money of the Duchy of Gelderland

Mintmarks/Mint: Berlin.

Mint Official Marks/Initials/Names: HFH = Heinrich Friedrich Halter, mint master at Magdeburg from 1698-1721 and Berlin from 1718-1719.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 0.563 fine silver, this specimen 5,44 g.

Catalog reference: KM 202 (listed under Prussian Gelderland), v. Schr. 552; Olding 282.

Source:

  • 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, Künker Auktion 353: Die Sammlung Axel Tesmer, Teil 2: Prägungen der Könige von Preussen von der Kroning 1701 bis zum Ende der Monarchie. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.

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