Transylvania 1592 thaler Dav-8803
This specimen was lot 42811 in Stack's Bowers Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction (Pittsburgh, September 2026), where it sold for $2,684. The catalog description[1] noted, "TRANSYLVANIA. Taler, 1592. Baia Mare (Nagybanya) Mint. Sigismund Bathori. NGC AU Details--Tooled. Despite tooling, this example has pleasant surfaces and also only very light wear. Always demanded and deserving of numerous excited bids. From the Heisner Collection from Down Under." 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 1592-93. It shows horizontal corrugations on the prince's breastplate and his hair styled into a cowlick.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-8803.
- 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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