Silesia-Liegnitz-Brieg 1659-EW thaler Dav-7731
This specimen was lot 52084 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $9,600. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Silesia-Liegnitz-Brieg. Taler, 1659-EW. Brieg Mint. Georg III, Ludwig IV & Christian. NGC MS-61. A wonderfully baroque and very seldom-seen large-size Taler issue hailing from the reign of the 'Three Brothers' and featuring the iconic armored facing half-length portraits of the joint rulers. Fully struck and well-detailed, with the most ornate details of elegant design apparent in stark definition, the fields pervaded by gently glossy luster and decorated throughout by a layer of light golden and mauve patina. The faint remnants of an aged ink collection number, perhaps from an old museum archive, appear in the upper obverse field. The first example we can recall offering of this elusive type, and EXCEEDINGLY RARE as a Mint State survivor. The brothers Georg III, Ludwig IV, and Christian served jointly as Dukes of Brieg (Brzeg), a city within the Silesia region that was at the time a Bohemian fief under the Holy Roman Empire, and now part of present-day Poland." This type was struck 1657-59; all three dates are rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-7731; KM-414.1.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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