Transylvania 1660-CB thaler Dav-4762
This specimen was lot 3505 in Sincona sale 11 (Zürich, May 2013), where it sold for 5,250 CHF (about US$6,500 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"UNGARN Siebenbürgen Achatius Barcsai, 1659-1660. Taler 1660, Kronstadt. Belagerungsmünze. Sehr selten. Teilw. schwach ausgeprägt. Sehr schön-gutes sehr schön. (Hungary, Transylvania, Achatius Barcsai, 1659-60, thaler of 1660, Kronstadt mint, siege issue. Very rare, very fine to good very fine.)"
Like most coins of Transylvania, this type (struck 1660 only) is rare and expensive. As Transylvania was never part of the Holy Roman Empire and was not at this point controlled by the Hapsburgs, we have not included it in the "silver thalers of Germany." Achatius Barcsai was a short-lived Ottoman puppet in the three-way war between the Austrians, the Turks and the native elite. The SCWC notes many varieties for 1660, including Dav-4756, -4757, -4757A, -4758, -4759, -4761, -4763, -4764 and -4765.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 27.86 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-4762; Huszar 599a, KM 330.1.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
- [1]Numismatic Coins, Medals & Banknotes, Auction 11, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2013.
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