Reuss-Ebersdorf 1812 8 pfennig
This specimen was lot 4243 in Künker sale 335 (Osnabrück, Germany, March 2020), where it sold for €1,200 (about US$1,570 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"REUSS, REUSS-EBERSDORF, GRAFSCHAFT, SEIT 1806 FÜRSTENTUM. Heinrich LI. 1779-1822. 8 Pfennig 1812. Sehr selten in dieser Erhaltung. Prachtexemplar. Herrliche Patina, fast Stempelglanz. (Germany, principality of Reuss-Ebersdorf, Henry LI, 1779-1822, eight pfennig of 1812. Very rare in this condition, cabinet piece, beautiful patina, about uncirculated.)"
Reuss was one of the splinter states of Saxon Thuringia and itself underwent several divisions. Many rulers were named Heinrich and several lines consolidated their numbering, resulting in this prince becoming Heinrich the fifty-first. This type was struck 1812 only along with KM 12. It was one of hundreds of obscure minors issued by the various German states prior to unification in 1871.
Recorded mintage: 11,000.
Specification: 1.30 g, 0.250 fine silver, this specimen 1.29 g.
Catalog reference: KM 15, AKS 50; J. 96.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 335: Bracteates from Upper Swabia and the area of the Lake Constance | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the Dr. Karl Walter Bach Collection of coins of the Austrian nobility, Special collections of Bavaria, Lubeck, Wurttemberg as well as siege coins from the Eberhard Link Collection. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2020.
Link to: