Saxony 1533 thaler Dav-9785
This specimen was lot 74673 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2023), where it sold for $1,920. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Saxony (Ernestine). Taler, 1533. Annaberg Mint. George Herzog. PCGS Genuine--Repaired, VF Details. From a very difficult type that tends to command strong prices, this somewhat more affordable example exhibits pewter and steel gray surfaces that produce slight purple iridescence when raked with light. Some hairline tooling is evident in the fields, particularly on the reverse, but surfaces are for the most part unmolested across the devices and legends. Sure to interest serious numismatists who have long sought an example for the type." The Saxon lands were partitioned between the Ernestine and Albertine lines in 1485, with the Ernestines retaining the electoral cap. The emperor confiscated the cap from Johann Friedrich in 1547 and awarded it to his Albertine cousin Moritz. This type was struck 1530-33 at Freiberg, Schneeberg and Annaberg and is fairly scarce. George was the Albertine duke of Saxony but never elector. The reverse legend, "NACH DEM ALTEN· [REICHS] SCHROT VND KORN", means, "According to the old imperial weight and alloy."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-9785, KM 32.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- Gernot Schnee, Sächsiche Taler, 1500-1800. Frankfurt Am Main, P. N. Schulten, 1982.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancient & World Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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