Prussia 1786-A 1/2 thaler

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Künker sale 353, lot 3478

This specimen was lot 3478 in Künker sale 353 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,340 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRANDENBURG-PREUSSEN, PREUSSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich II. der Große, 1740-1786. 1/2 Reichstaler preuß. 1786, A, Berlin, auf seinen Tod. RR Vorzüglich. (Germany, kingdom of Prussia, Frederick II the Great, 1740-86, half thaler of 1786, Berlin mint, on his death. Very rare, extremely fine.)

Im Jahre 1786 sind in der Münzstätte Berlin neben der üblichen Talerprägung auch Teilstücke geprägt worden. Diese Serie ist wohl anläßlich des am 17. August 1786 eingetretenen Todes Friedrichs II. entstanden. Frühere Angaben, diese Stücke seien auf die Grundsteinlegung des Schlosses Bellevue geprägt, treffen nicht zu, da die Grundsteinlegung bereits 1785 stattfand. (In 1786, in addition to the usual thalers, half thalers were also minted in the Berlin mint. This series was probably created on the occasion of the death of Frederick II on August 17, 1786. Earlier statements that these pieces were coined on the laying of the foundation stone of Bellevue Palace do not apply, as the foundation stone was laid in 1785.)"

This was the first half thaler struck in Prussia since the 1760's and was strictly intended to be a death commemorative.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 11.13 g, 0.750 fine silver, this specimen is 11,00 g.

Catalog reference: KM 346, Olding 73; Kluge 137.

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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