Saxony 1541 thaler Dav-9728
This specimen was lot 3767 in Künker Auction 426 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €440 (about US$623 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN, KURFÜRSTENTUM Johann Friedrich der Großmütige und Heinrich, 1539-1541. Taler 1541, Freiberg. Hübsche Patina, sehr schön. (Germany, electorate of Saxony, John Frederick the Magnanimous and Henry, 1539-41, thaler of 1541, Freiburg mint. Handsome patina, very fine.)"
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. Saxon thalers for 1541 include KM MB227/Dav-9728 (cross in circle mintmark, Annaberg mint), MB228/Dav-9728 (pine tree mintmark, shown here) and MB244/Dav-9729 (mintmark "T", Buchholz mint). This type was struck 1539-42 and is fairly common.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: silver, this specimen 29,11 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB228, Dav-9728; Schnee 97; Keilitz 154.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, eLive Premium Auction 426: European and German Coins and Medals from the 16th to the 20th century, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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