Salzburg (1593-94) 3 ducats Fr-687

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Künker sale 384, lot 2669

This specimen was lot 2669 in Künker sale 384 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €13,000 (about US$16,799 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, 1587-1612. 3 Dukaten o. J. Turmprägung. Geschenkmünze an die Truppen. Flaches Gepräge; Sechsfeldiges Stifts- und Familienwappen mit Mittelschild, dahinter thront St. Rudbertus mit Mitra, Salzgefäß und Krummstab v. v.//Turm in Wellen, umher die durch Köpfe personifizierten vier Winde, oben aus Wolken fallender Hagel. In US-Plastikholder der NGC mit der Bewertung UNC DETAILS RIM FILING (6495148-002). GOLD. Von großer Seltenheit. Kl. Probierspur am Rand (12 Uhr), sonst vorzüglich (archbishopric of Salzburg, Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, 1587-1612, undated triple ducat, tower coinage, struck for the troops. Flat strike. Obverse: sixfold state and family arms with escutcheon, above, St. Rupert with miter, saltcellar and crozier; reverse: tower in storm, being blown by the four winds and pelted by hail. Extremely rare, small file mark on the edge, otherwise extremely fine, graded NGC UNC DETAILS RIM FILING.)"

Der Turm in stürmischer See symbolisiert wahrscheinlich den Erzbischof in seiner Stand- und Wehrhaftigkeit gegenüber den Türken, gegen die der Erzbischof ein Truppenkontingent unter der Führung seines Bruders zur Unterstützung des Kaisers Rudolf II. entsandt hatte. Die in diversen Nominalen in Gold und Silber ausgebrachten Turmprägungen dürften als Geschenke an die Soldaten verwendet worden sein. Nach anderer Interpretation ist der Turm ein Symbol für die katholische Kirche, die den Bedrohungen durch die Reformation Stand hält. (The tower in a stormy sea probably symbolizes the archbishop in his steadfastness against the Turks, against whom the archbishop had sent a contingent of troops led by his brother to support Emperor Rudolf II. The tower strikings in various denominations in gold and silver were probably used as gifts to the soldiers. Another interpretation has it that the tower is a symbol of the Catholic Church resisting the Reformation.)"

The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical state between Bavaria and Austria and usually ruled by a Hapsburg client. This series of 1593 included sixteen ducats (Fr-675) down to three ducats (Fr-687), some in klippe format, and a long series of silver coins from six thaler down to half thaler. All were intended to pay troops raised for an expedition against the Turks and all are rare. Salzburg was blessed with a number of productive silver mines and the prince-archbishop was a prolific issuer of coins, particularly thalers. The archbishopric was secularized in 1803 and passed to Austria in 1814.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 10.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 10,39 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-687; Probszt 722; Zöttl 843 (Type 4).

Source:

  • Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • Helmut Zöttl, Salzburg Münzen und Medaillen, 1500-1810, 2 vols. Salzburg: Verlag Fruhwald, 2008.
  • [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 384: Münzen, Medaillen und Marken von Salzburg - Die Sammlung Professor Dr. Franz Schedel, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.

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