Transylvania 1683-AI 3 thaler Dav-A4820
This specimen was lot 993 in CNG Triton XXVIII (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $19,600. The catalog description[1] noted, "TRANSYLVANIA, Principality. Mihály Apafi I. 1662-1690. AR 3 Taleri (h). Gyulafehérvár (Karslburg / Alba Iulia) mint. Dated 1683 AI. Half-length armored bust right, holding scepter over shoulder and resting hand on hilt of sword, wearing short brimmed fur cap with feather / Crowned coat-of-arms. Toned. Near EF. Extremely rare and apparently unpublished." Michael Apafi was the last native ruler of Transylvania. On his death, he willed his principality to emperor Leopold of Austria, who was in the process of conquering Hungary from the Turks. All of Apafi's thalers, including the single thaler struck 1681-87, are rare and expensive. This triple thaler has not heretofore appeared in CoinArchives.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 83.47 g, silver, this specimen 44 mm diameter, 88.54 g, 12 h axis.
Catalog reference: Dav-A4820, Cf. Resch 247 (Taler); cf. MBR 2622 (Taler); cf. MNB 206 (Taler; same dies); cf. KM 492 (single thaler) and A492 (triple thaler dated 1681).
- 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]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXVIII, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2024.
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