Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1766 1/3 thaler
This specimen was lot 4532 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €260 (about US$358 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN-GOTHA, HERZOGTUM, AB 1672 SACHSEN-GOTHA-ALTENBURG Friedrich III., 1732-1772. 1/4 Konv.-Taler 1766, Gotha. Leicht justiert, vorzüglich +. (duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Frederick III, 1732-72, quarter convention thaler of 1766, Gotha mint. Lightly adjusted, extremely fine or better.)"
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was created in 1672 when the duke of Saxe-Gotha inherited the duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, whose ruler had died without heirs. The two duchies were officially merged in 1680 and the new state remained intact until 1825. We will follow the SCWC in calling this a one-third thaler or half gulden altho it has the weight of one-fourth convention thaler. The duke struck coinage only sporadically but this one is less rare than most.
Recorded mintage: 2,704 for 1765-66.
Specification: 7.02 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 6,98 g.
Catalog reference: KM 318 (formerly KM C27), Steguweit 264.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [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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