Saxony 1553 2 thaler Dav-9747
This specimen was lot 237 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €11,000 (about US$14,270 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN, HERZOGTUM (Ernestiner nach dem Verl, Johann Friedrich I. der Großmütige als Herzog, 1552-1554. Doppeltaler 1553, Saalfeld, mit Titel Karls V. IO : FRIDER : SENI - NATV : ELEC : SAX : Brustbild l. unten Kur- und Rautenwappen zwischen Rosette//CAROLVS · V · RO · IMP · SEMP · AVGV · 1553 Gekrönter Doppeladler, auf der Brust Reichsapfel. Von größter Seltenheit. Kl. Kratzer im Feld der Vorderseite, sehr schön. (Germany, duchy of Saxony (Ernestine line), John Frederick the Magnanimous as duke, 1552-54, double thaler of 1553, Saalfeld mint, struck in the name of Charles V. Obverse: bust left, below, capped rhomboid arms between rosettes; reverse: crowned double headed eagle with the imperial rob on its breast. Extremely rare, samll scratches in the obverse fields, very fine.)"
Saxony, one of the larger divisions of Germany and blessed with numerous silver mines, issued large numbers of thalers. This double thaler was struck by the Ernestine duke Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous. The emperor confiscated the electoral cap from Johann Friedrich in 1547 and awarded it to his Albertine cousin Moritz but released Johann Friedrich from imprisonment in 1552. The division of Erfurt in 1572 permanently splintered Ernestine Thuringia into fragments which were not reunited until the establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1920.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 57,30 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB360; Dav-9747; Schnee 143; Koppe 234.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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