Transylvania 1637 1/4 thaler
This specimen was lot 2098 in Sincona sale 66 (Zürich, October 2020), where it sold for 22,000 CHF (about US$28,963 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SIEGENBURGEN, Fürstentum, Georg I. Rakoczi, 1630-1648. 1/4 Taler / 1/2 Forint 1637, Nagybànya. :GEORG°RAK°D:G:PRINT°TRAN, Brustbild nach rechts, im Feld 1-6. Rv. PAR°R.HVNG:DO:ET:SIC:CO, Wappen von Rakoczi und Siebenbürgen, Sonne und Mond, oben °3°7°. Von grösster Seltenheit. Vermutlich das einzige bekannte Exemplar im Handel. Sehr schön. (principality of Transylvania, Georg Rakoczi I, 1630-48, quarter thaler or half florin of 1637, Nagybànya mint. Obverse: bust right, "1-6" in field; reverse: arms of Rakoczi and Transylvania, sun and moon, "3-7" in field. Of the highest rarity. Probably the only known specimen on the market, Very 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.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 6.57 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Huszar 512. Resch 22.
- [1]Jürg Richter, Auction 66, Gold and Silver Coins and Medals, featuring the Claude Stritt Collection, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2020.
- 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).
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