Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1688-IGW thaler Dav-7468
This specimen was lot 239 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €11,000 (about US$14,270 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN-GOTHA, HERZOGTUM, AB 1672 SACHS, Friedrich I. allein, 1675-1680-1691. Reichstaler 1688, Gotha. Familientaler. Brustbild Friedrichs I. r. in Medaillon, umher sechs weitere Medaillons mit den Brustbildern seiner sechs Brüder//Sechsfach behelmtes Wappen. Von größter Seltenheit. Attraktives Exemplar mit hübscher Patina, vorzüglich. (Germany, duchy of Saxe-Gotha, Frederick I alone, 1675-1680-1691, thaler of 1688, Gotha mint, nicknamed the family thaler. Obverse: bust of Frederick I in a medallion, surrounded by six medallions with his brothers; reverse: six helmeted arms. Extremely rare, attractive example with handsome patina, extremely fine.)"
The SCWC notes a plethora of thalers for this state in 1688, including KM 72/Dav-7466, KM 73/Dav-7468, KM 74, KM 75/Dav-7470, KM 76/Dav-7471, KM 77/Dav-7473, KM 78 (death of the duke's wife), KM A73/Dav-7468A. The legend, "M D S I C", clearly marks the obverse as Dav-7468 but the reverse of that thaler should read, "LANDG: TH: MARCH: M: PRINC: DIC: HENN:" whereas the example here reads, "·FRATRES LINIAE GOTHANAE·", similar to Dav-7470. This is clearly a mule but we will file it under Dav-7468. Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was formed when the duke of Saxe-Gotha added Altenburg to his domain in 1680.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28,90 g.
Catalog reference: KM 73, Dav-7468/7470; Schnee 483; Steguweit 34.
- 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, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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