Saxony 1537 thaler Dav-9721
This specimen was lot 113 in Schulman auction 385 (Amsterdam, July 2025), where it sold for €260 (about US$368 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "German States - Thaler 1537, Silver, JOHANN FRIEDRICH der GROSSMUTIGE 1532-1547 & 1552-1554, SACHSEN Bust with sword on shoulder to right. Four small shields divide legend. Rev. bust within long beard to left. Four small shields divide legend. Lightly cleaned. A[l]most very fine." Saxony, one of the larger divisions of Germany and blessed with numerous silver mines, issued large numbers of thalers. This type was struck 1534-39 at Annaberg and Freiburg. The Ernestine and Albertine lines had already divided by 1537 but were still issuing joint coinages. The Ernestine line was the senior branch of Saxon dukes and held the electoral cap until the capture of Johann Friedrich in 1547, when the emperor confiscated it and awarded it to the Albertine line. Thereafter, the Thuringian state splintered into the Saxon duchies.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28.81 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB200, Dav-9721; Schnee 73.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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]Absil, Andrew, Olle Cederholm, Erik de Visser and Rik van Noorloos, Schulman sale 385, Amsterdam: Schulman b.v., 2025.
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