Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1776 thaler Dav-2725
This specimen was lot 4533 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €1,700 (about US$2,339 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN-GOTHA, HERZOGTUM, AB 1672 SACHSEN-GOTHA-ALTENBURG Ernst II., 1772-1804. Konv.-Taler 1776, Gotha. Prachtexemplar. Feine Patina, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. Exemplar der Auktion Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. 397, Frankfurt/Main 2008, Nr. 2775. (duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Ernest II, 1772-1804, convention thaler of 1776, Gotha mint. Choice example, fine patina, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
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. This type, struck 1775-76, is probably the most common thaler of the eighteenth century from this state. It shows the duke with short hair, a style that would become fashionable twenty years later.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28.06 g, 0.833 fine silver, this specimen 27,99 g.
Catalog reference: KM 333 (previously KM C40), Dav-2725; Schnee 533; Steguweit 282.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1965.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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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