Saxony 1815 thaler Dav-990
This specimen was lot 1250 in Künker sale 293 (Osnabruck, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €6,000 (about US$8,087 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SACHSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich August I. 1806-1827. Konv.-Taler 1815. Fleißprämie der Bergakademie zu Freiberg. RR Feine Patina, winz. Schrötingsfehler, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. Exemplar der Preussag Collection, Part I. Auktion London Coin Galleries/Künker 1, London 2015, Nr. 400. (kingdom of Saxony, Frederick Augustus I, 1806-27, convention thaler of 1815, prize for the mining school at Freiberg. Rare, fine patina, minor edge bumps, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
Friedrich August was a staunch ally of Napoleon and was rewarded by being promoted to king but he waited too long to switch sides after Napoleon's defeat, for which he was punished at the Congress of Vienna by the loss of half his territory. Davenport lists this rare issue in his section on "pseudo thalers" rather than regular coinage. While this was issued as a scholastic prize, it seems to have circulated, being good silver. We will let the reader decide. Other school prize thalers exist, such as Dav-994.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28.06 g, 0.833 fine silver.
Catalog reference: AKS 54; Kahnt 420; Thun 296; Müseler 56.2.1/10, Dav-990, KM 1074.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 293: Münzen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. die westfälischen Privatsammlungen Werner Bröker und Bernd Terletzki, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
Link to:
- Saxony 1815-IGS 2/3 thaler = gulden
- 1816-IGS mining thaler
- Coins and currency dated 1815
- return to coins of German States, Saxony