Ratzeburg 1672 2/3 thaler
This specimen was lot 190 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €7,000 (about US$9,081 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RATZEBURG, BISTUM, Christian Ludwig von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1658-1692. 2/3 Taler 1672, Ratzeburg. Von größter Seltenheit. Henkelspur, sehr schön. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 113, Osnabrück 2006, Nr. 3818. Kunzel und Davenport stand für dieses extrem seltene Exemplar nur eine Zeichnung aus A. C. Weises Guldencabinett zur Verfügung. (Germany, bishopric of Ratzeburg, Christian Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1658-92, two-thirds thaler of 1672, Ratzeburg mint. Extremely rare, mount mark, very fine. Authors Kunzel and Davenport only had a drawing from A. C. Weise's Guldencabinett available for this extremely rare example.)"
The photo in the SCWC appears to be this specimen. This type was also issued in 1671. It is not accurate to speak of the bishopric of Ratzeburg in 1672; by the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, the bishopric was converted into a principality and attached to Mecklenburg-Schwerin. While visiting Paris, Christian Ludwig converted to Catholicism in 1663, to the horror of his subjects, and never returned to his domain. Ratzeburg, which had converted to Lutheranism a century before, passed to Mecklenburg-Strelitz on Christian Ludwig's death on 1692.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, 36-37 mm diameter, this specimen 21.73 g.
Catalog reference: KM 35, Dav-779; Kunzel 636 A/b.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., Silver Gulden, 1559-1763, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1982
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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