Saxe-Alt-Weimar 1577 thaler Dav-9766
This specimen was lot 4554 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €1,200 (about US$1,651 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN-WEIMAR, HERZOGTUM, AB 1741 SACHSEN-WEIMAR-EISENACH, AB 1815 GROSSHERZOGTUM Friedrich Wilhelm und Johann, 1573-1603. Reichstaler 1577, Saalfeld. Feine Patina, vorzüglich. Aus der Sammlung Jürgen und Erika Schmidt, Bovenden. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 278, Osnabrück 2016, Nr. 2136. (duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Frederick William and John, 1573-1603, thaler of 1577, Saalfeld mint. Fine patina, extremely fine.)"
The division of Erfurt in 1572 permanently splintered Ernestine Thuringia into fragments which were not reunited until the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1920. This particular version of Saxe-Weimar would lapse on the duke's death in 1605. It would be revived several times before World War One wiped away all the German principalities. This type of 1574-78 is scarce but not rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, 43 mm diameter, this specimen 28,97 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB29, Dav-9766; Schnee 231; Koppe 8 c.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- Gernot Schnee, Sächsiche Taler, 1500-1800, Frankfurt Am Main, P. N. Schulten, 1982.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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