Solms-Lich (1622) 2 gulden Dav-7750
This specimen was lot 4603 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"SOLMS-LICH, GRAFSCHAFT Philipp, 1613-1631. Kippertaler zu 120 Kreuzern (2 Gulden) o. J. (1622), Lich, mit Titel Ferdinands II. Dreifach behelmtes und verziertes, achtfeldiges Wappen//Doppeladler mit Kopfscheinen, auf der Brust Reichsapfel, oben Krone. Von allergrößter Seltenheit. Vermutlich 2. bekanntes Exemplar. Belagreste, winz. Schrötlingsfehler, sehr schön. Außergewöhnlich hohes Gewicht. (county of Solms-Lich, Philip, 1613-31, undated kipper thaler of 120 kreuzer or two gulden, circa 1622, Lich mint, struck in the name of Ferdinand II. Obverse: triple helmeted eightfold arms; reverse: nimbate double headed eagle supporting the crowned imperial orb. Of the utmost rarity. Presumably the second known specimen. Traces of encrustation, tiny flan flaw; very fine. Exceptionally high weight.)"
The county of Solms, a petty state in Hesse, had many branches. The line of Solms-Lich was created in 1548 and fell extinct in 1718, passing to Solms-Hohensolms. This enigmatic issue is catalogued in the SCWC as a double gulden even tho the gulden did not exist as a denomination in the 1620's. The weight given in the SCWC (21.5 g) is also wrong. The auctioneer's attribution as a kipper 120 kreuzer is more likely to be correct. Other large silver coins from this state at this time include KM 28/Dav-7745; KM 48/Dav-7746; KM 24/Dav-7747 and KM 49/Dav-7751.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 29,17 g.
Catalog reference: KM 46, Dav-7750; Joseph 170; Haussammlung der Fürsten zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (Auktion Künker 212) 4032.
- 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, 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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