Prussia 1808-M schilling

Künker sale 353, lot 4038

This specimen was lot 4038 in Künker sale 353 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €40 (about US$56 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"BRANDENBURG-PREUSSEN, PREUSSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich Wilhelm III. 1797-1840. Ku.-Schilling 1808, M. Prägung der Freien Stadt Danzig. Münzmeister Johann Ludwig Mayer. Korrosionsspuren, sehr schön. Erworben 1969. (Germany, kingdom of Prussia, Frederick William III, 1797-1840, copper schilling of 1808, struck by the free city of Danzig. Traces of corrosion, very fine.)"

This type was struck in 1808 and 1812 for the free city of Danzig. It is listed in the SCWC as a "szelag" but we use the German name here. The port, long ruled by Poland, was annexed to Prussia as part of the Second Partition of 1793. After defeat by Napoleon, Frederick William III was forced to surrender a large chunk of South Prussia to the king of Saxony as part of Napoleon's puppet state, the grand duchy of Warsaw. Danzig, tho not adjacent to the grand duchy, was made a free city so that the new state would have a port on the Baltic Sea. This lasted until Napoleon's defeat, whereupon the grand duchy was handed to the Russians as the kingdom of Poland. The city of Danzig returned to its former status.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: copper, this specimen 0,90 g.

Catalog reference: KM 136, AKS 2; J. 152; Olding D5; Dutkowski/Suchanek 442 I.

Source:

Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
^[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.

Link to:

Prussia 1808-M schilling

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