Saxe-Alt-Weimar 1597 1/2 thaler KM-MB74
This specimen was lot 4557 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,402 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. 1/2 Reichstaler 1597, Weimar. Selten, besonders in dieser Erhaltung. Prachtexemplar. Herrliche Patina, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. Aus der Sammlung Jürgen und Erika Schmidt, Bovenden. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 140, Osnabrück 2008, Nr. 2734. (duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Frederick William and John, 1573-1603, half thaler of 1597, Weimar mint. Rare in this quality, choice example, superb patina, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
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 was struck 1595-98 along with a thaler (Dav-9777) and a half thaler with two brothers on the obverse, arms reverse (KM MB78).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 14.5 g, silver, this specimen 14,53 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB74, Koppe 99.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [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.
Links: