Saxe-Altenburg 1639 thaler Dav-7383
This specimen was lot 4552 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €1,600 (about US$2,201 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN-ALTENBURG, HERZOGTUM Johann Philipp und Friedrich Wilhelm II., 1632-1639. Reichstaler 1639, Saalfeld, auf den Tod des Herzogs Johann Philipp. Ohne Münzmeisterzeichen. Attraktives Exemplar mit hübscher Patina, fast vorzüglich. (duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, John Philip and Frederick William II, 1632-39, thaler of 1639, Saalfeld mint, for the death of duke John Philip, without mintmaster's initials. Attractive example with handsome patina, about extremely fine.)
Johann Philipp wurde 1597 in Altenburg geboren. Er war seit seiner Volljährigkeit 1618 bis zu seinem Tod regierender Herzog von Sachsen-Altenburg. Im Oktober 1618 heiratete er Elisabeth, Tochter des Herzogs Heinrich Julius von Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Johann Philipp verstarb 1640 und wurde in der Brüderkirche in Altenburg beigesetzt. Er hinterließ keine männlichen Erben, seine einzige Tochter Elisabeth Sophia vermählte sich mit Herzog Ernst I. (dem Frommen) von Sachsen-Gotha. (Johann Philipp was born in Altenburg in 1597. From the time he came of age in 1618 until his death, he served as the reigning Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. In October 1618, he married Elisabeth, daughter of Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Johann Philipp died in 1640 and was laid to rest in the Brüderkirche in Altenburg. He left no male heirs; his only daughter, Elisabeth Sophia, married Duke Ernst I (the Pious) of Saxe-Gotha.)"
This state was created in 1602 from Saxe-Weimar for Johann II and survived until the death of Frederick William III in 1672, when it was claimed by Saxe-Gotha. This rare type was struck in 1639 along with KM 364/Dav-7383A, with a rearranged inscription on the reverse.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, 45 mm diameter, this specimen 28,75 g.
Catalog reference: KM 363, Dav-7383; Kernbach 54.2; Schnee 302; Kozinowski/Otto/Ruß 428.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., German Secular Talers, 1600-1700, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1976.
- 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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