Saxony 1612 2 thaler Dav-7578
This specimen was lot 4413 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,402 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN, KURFÜRSTENTUM Johann Georg I. und August, 1611-1615. Dicker doppelter Reichstaler 1612, Dresden, auf das Vikariat. RR Attraktives Exemplar mit feiner Patina, feine Kratzer, fast vorzüglich. Exemplar der Sammlung Münzen und Medaillen aus adeligem Privatbesitz. (electorate of Saxony, John George and August, 1611-15, double thaler of 1612, Dresden mint, for the Vicariat. Very rare, attractive example with fine patina, hairlines, about extremely fine.)"
During the interregnum between the death of the Holy Roman Emperor and the election of his successor, the empire was ruled by two vicars, the elector of Saxony and the elector of the Palatinate. The position became ceremonial once the Hapsburgs monopolized the throne but the elector of Saxony often used the event to issue commemoratives, as here. We also note a quarter thaler (KM 52), a half thaler and a single thaler (KM 55) struck on this occasion.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 57.9 g, silver, this specimen 58,02 g.
Catalog reference: KM 57, Dav-7578; Schnee 793; Clauß/Kahnt 53.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., German Secular Talers, 1600-1700, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1976.
- 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, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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