Strasbourg 1590 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 1918 in Künker sale 293 (Osnabruck, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €3,000 (about US$4,044 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"FRANKREICH/ELSASS, STRASSBURG, STADT 1/2 Taler 1590. Kanonentaler. Von großer Seltenheit. Attraktives Exemplar mit schöner Tönung, sehr schön +. Exemplar der Slg. Koechlin, Auktion E. Bourgey, Paris 1925, Nr. 1037. (French states, city of Strasbourg, half "cannon" thaler of 1590, very rare. Attractive example with nice toning, very fine or better.)"
This coin was issued by the staunchly Protestant city, not the bishop. The city was occupied and annexed by France in the late seventeenth century but Louis XIV was careful to leave its religious liberty alone.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 14,41 g.
Catalog reference: Engel/Lehr 588.
- [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:
- Strasbourg 1575 10 kreuzer
- Strasbourg 1592 80 kreuzer siege coinage
- bishopric of Strasbourg (1593-1607) teston, Charles de Lorraine
- Strasbourg 1603 1/3 thaler
- Strasbourg (1610) 1/2 thaler
- Coins and currency dated 1590
- return to coins of German States, Strassbourg