Saxony 1546 thaler Dav-9740
This specimen was lot 45889 in Stack's Bowers Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction (Pittsburgh, September 2026), where it sold for $1,098. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Saxony (Ernestine). Taler, 1546. Goslar Mint. Johann Friedrich I and Philipp I. NGC AU Details--Cleaned. Cataloged as Saxe-Old-Gotha by NGC. From the Heisner Collection from Down Under." This thaler was struck for the Ernestine line 1542-47. 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. On Johann Friedrich's capture and imprisonment in 1547, the electoral cap was taken away from the Ernestine line and given to the Albertine line by the emperor as punishment for rebellion. Thereafter, the Thuringian state splintered into the Saxon duchies.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28.5 g, silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-9740; KM-MB298.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2026.
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