Saxony 1678 3 thaler Dav-7633
This specimen was lot 30278 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $15,600. The catalog description[1] noted,
"German States: Saxony. Johann Georg II Medallic 3 Taler 1678 AU Details (Mount Removed) NGC, Dresden mint. Struck to commemorate Johann Georg's election to the Order of the Garter of St. George on May 29, 1671. An intriguing medallic issue, clearly underlying an alliance between Charles II of Great Britain and Johann Georg II of Saxony, though we have been able to find little written on the nature of this bond. Johann Georg held a grand festival on St. George's Day (April 23, 1678) in Dresden to celebrate his admission to the Order, the most senior order of knighthood in the British honors system, with the stall plate commemorating the original event still located in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.
The offering was struck to the Zinna weight standard (zinnaischer Fuss) around a decade after the Zinna Coin Treaty had concluded between Brandenburg and Saxony. While examples are generally available in taler weight, specimens in this triple-thick format are exceedingly rare, with Schnee recording perhaps only two known in 1982; none stem from some of the most prestigious Saxon collections, nor are located in the British Museum or the Royal Collection. What is more, whereas standard weight representatives were produced on relatively thin planchets, leading to a shallow and crude rendering of the designs, the added thickness here has provided a sturdier base for the dies to find full expression, permitting a greater appreciation of this truly fascinating design. Ex. Irving Goodman Collection (Goldberg Auction 15, June 2002, Lot 560). From the Paramount Collection."
Davenport notes a quadruple thaler (KM 563/Dav-7634) but catalog number Dav-7633 is assigned to a single thaler.
Recorded Mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 67.78 g.
Catalog reference: KM 565 var. (weight), Dav-7633 var. (same), Merseburger-1187 var. (same), Dassdorf-916 var. (same), cf. MI-I-572/242 (weight not given), Schnee-941.
- 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.
- 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]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, The Paramount Collection World & Ancient Coins: Signature Auction 3096, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
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