Saxony 1545 thaler Dav-9740
This specimen was lot 3768 in Künker Auction 426 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €1,050 (about US$1,487 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN, KURFÜRSTENTUM Johann Friedrich der Großmütige und Philipp der Großmütige von Hessen, 1542-1547. Taler 1545, Goslar. 2. Schmalkaldischer Bundestaler. Hübsche Patina, kl. Schrötlingsfehler, Vorderseite min. berieben, sehr schön. (Germany, electorate of Saxony, John Frederick the Magnanimous and Philip of Hesse, 1542-47, thaler of 1545, Goslar mint, for the second Schmalkaldic League. Handsome patina, light planchet defects, tooling on obverse, 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 1545 include KM MB288/Dav-9730, KM MB289/Dav-9730, KM MB295/Dav-9736, KM MB298/Dav-9740 (shown here), MB303/Dav-9735. This type was struck 1542-47 and is expensive. It was a joint issue with the other leader of the Protestant princes, Philip of Hesse. The two lords depicted struck this coin for their occupation of Brunswick.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: silver, this specimen 28,82 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB298, Dav-9740; Schnee 131; Schütz 439.9.
- 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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