Saxony 1539 1-1/2 thaler Dav-9725
This specimen was lot 13154 in Ponterio sale 177 (Chicago, August 2013), where it sold for $3,055. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Saxony-Ernestine. 1 1/2 Taler, 1539. NGC AU-53." Johann Friedrich II was the fifth in the Ernestine line of Electors of Saxony. His father, Johann Friedrich I, in 1547, while a prisoner of the emperor, was forced to cede the electoral title and much land to his cousin Moritz of the Albertine line. On the death of Johann Friedrich I in 1552, Johann Friedrich II partitioned ducal Saxony with his brothers, initiating the fragmentation of that state. This rare 1½ thaler was issued in the name of Johann Friedrich I while he was still elector. A double thaler (Dav-9724), triple thaler (Dav-A9724) and single thaler (Dav-9728) also exist.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: MB-230, Dav-9725.
- 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.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Gernot Schnee, Sächsiche Taler, 1500-1800, Frankfurt Am Main, P. N. Schulten, 1982.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, Ponterio sale 177: The August 2013 Chicago ANA Auction, World Coins, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers, LLC, 2013.
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