Prussia 1826-A 1/6 thaler

From CoinVarieties
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Künker sale 353, lot 4065

This specimen was lot 4065 in Künker sale 353 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €150 (about US$209 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRANDENBURG-PREUSSEN, PREUSSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich Wilhelm III. 1797-1840. 1/6 Taler 1826, A. Winz. Schrötlingsfehler, fast Stempelglanz. Exemplar der Auktion Möller 24, Kassel 1999, Nr. 836. (Germany, kingdom of Prussia, Frederick William III, 1797-1840, one-sixth thaler of 1826, minor planchet flaws, about uncirculated.)"

The production of minor coinage ceased after 1818 as mint officials debated a monetary reform. During 1819-20, the only coinage minted was silver thalers and gold friedrichs d'or. In 1821, the regime introduced a new system, with one thaler = 30 groschen and one groschen = 12 pfennig. The old provincial coinage was abolished along with the medieval system where coins varied in value in different parts of the realm. New or reformed denominations were struck including one pfennig, two pfennig, three pfennig, four pfennig, half silbergroschen and one silbergroschen. The sixth thaler (shown here) was added in 1822 and the half and double friedrichs d'or resumed in 1825. This system obtained until German unification in 1871. We don't know why authorities didn't go all the way and introduce a decimal system but neither did any other German state in this period.

Recorded mintage: 3,301,423, a fairly common date.

Specification: 5.35 g, 0.531 fine silver, this specimen 5.35 g.

Catalog reference: KM 411, AKS 26; J. 58 a; Olding 185 b.

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:

Retrieved from "https://coinvarieties.com/index.php?title=Prussia_1826-A_1/6_thaler&oldid=466442"