Transylvania 1610 3 groschen
This specimen was lot 1246 in Jean Elsen sale 165 (Brussels, June 2026), where it sold for €170 (about US$234 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SAINT EMPIRE, TRANSYLVANIE (SIEBENBÜRGEN), Gabriel Bathory (1608-1613), AR 3 Groschen, 1610. D/ B. cuir. à d. R/ Écu sur une inscription en cinq lignes. Traces d'ajustage. Petit défaut de flan au revers. Très Beau à Superbe. (Holy Roman Empire, Transylvania, Gabriel Bathori, 1608-13, silver three groschen of 1610. Obverse: armored bust right; reverse: an escutcheon over an inscription in five lines. Traces of adjustment marks, minor planchet fault on the reverse, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
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 three garas was struck 1609-10.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 2.0-2.6 g, silver, this specimen 2,31 g.
Catalog reference: KM 57, Resch 79.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 165, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2026.
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