Solms-Hohensolms 1627 thaler Dav-7759
This specimen was lot 5461 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €2,000 (about US$2,585 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SOLMS-HOHENSOLMS, GRAFSCHAFT, Philipp Reinhard I. 1613-1635. Reichstaler 1627, Wolfenbüttel. Sogenannter Hahnreitaler. RR Hübsche Patina, winz. Schrötlingsriß, sehr schön. (county of Solms-Hohensolms, Philip Reinhard I, 1613-35, thaler of 1627, Wolfenbüttel mint, the so-called "cuckold's thaler". Very rare, handsome patina, small planchet cracks, very fine.)
Graf Philipp Reinhard, *24. Juli 1593, Ó19. Juni 1635, trat 1627 in dänische Dienste. Als Statthalter des Königs Christian IV. von Dänemark nahm er im selben Jahr Wolfenbüttel ein und ließ in der herzoglichen Münzstätte Wolfenbüttel Gold- und Silbermünzen prägen. Der Name "Hahnreitaler" entstand aus einer Anspielung auf das Wort "VICARII" (Vicarius, Stellvertreter) in der Vorderseitenumschrift, da Philipp Reinhard seine Vollmacht dadurch mißbraucht hatte, daß er das Silbergeschirr des Herzogs und das durch Brandschatzung des Landes gewonnene Silber in jene Taler vermünzte. Mit "Hahnrei" wurde nämlich im Volksmund ein Mann genannt, der von seiner Frau in der ehelichen Treue betrogen wird. (Count Philipp Reinhard, born 24 July 1593, died 19 June 1635, entered Danish service in 1627. As governor for King Christian IV of Denmark, he took Wolfenbüttel in the same year and had gold and silver coins minted in the ducal mint in Wolfenbüttel. The name "Hahnreitaler" came from an allusion to the word "VICARII" (Vicarius, deputy) in the inscription on the front, since Philipp Reinhard had abused his power as vicar by looting the duke's silverware and the silver won by pillaging the country and coining it into these thalers. In short, he cuckolded the duke.)"
Solms-Hohensolms was a petty state between Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt. Philip Reinhard, one of its counts, while in the service of the king of Denmark, abused his office to loot a substantial quantity of silver from the duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and strike these thalers from it. Also noted are some very rare double thalers, triple thalers and ducats. The other coinage of this state is an undistinguished mix of pfennigs, kreuzers and gulden. The county survived until Napoleonic times but coinage ceased after 1677.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28.44 g.
Catalog reference: KM 67, Dav-7759; Joseph 241; Haussammlung der Fürsten zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (Auktion Künker 212) 4061; Hede 3 A.
- 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.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.
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