Transylvania 1589 thaler Dav-8802A
This specimen was lot 42810 in Stack's Bowers Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction (Pittsburgh, September 2026), where it sold for $4,636. The catalog description[1] noted, "TRANSYLVANIA. Taler, 1589. Baia Mare (Nagybanya) Mint. Sigismund Bathori. NGC EF Details--Tooled. Variety with wide portrait and mace pointed to "V". The prized and RARE initial year of the type, which additionally is the only date bearing this bust style. Some tooling and smoothing is evident, likely an attempt to conceal some environmental damage to the surfaces, but an overall bold strike has left ample detail to the design and legends. From the Charles “Cheech” Litman Collection." The princes of Transylvania were sandwiched between the Ottoman Empire to the south and the Hapsburg dominions to the west and attempted to maintain independence from both. The Hapsburgs reconquered Hungary from the Turks in the 1680's and ended Transylvanian autonomy. This type was struck 1589-92.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-8802A; Resch-41.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2026.
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