Wismar (15)96 thaler Dav-9942
This specimen was lot 278 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €16,000 (about US$20,757 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"WISMAR, STADT, Reichstaler (32 Schilling) 1596, mit Titel Rudolfs II. * MONETA · NOVA · - · ISI · WISMARI · 96 Heiliger Laurentius mit Rost und Palmwedel hinter Stadtwappen//RVDOLPHS · II · D · G · IMP · SE · AVGVS · Gekrönter Doppeladler, auf der Brust Reichsapfel, darin Wertzahl 3Z. Von allergrößter Seltenheit. Hübsche Patina, sehr schön-vorzüglich. (Germany, city of Wismar, thaler or 32 schilling of 1596, struck in the name of Rudolf II. Obverse: St. Laurence with grate and palm branch over the city arms; reverse: crowned double headed eagle, imperial orb on its breast with the value. Supremely rare, handsome patina, very fine to extremely fine.)"
Wismar was a port on the Baltic sea. Long part of the duchy of Mecklenburg, it obtained considerable independence as a member of the Hanseatic League. This type is listed in the SCWC as a 32 schilling. Later, in the sevententh century, the 32 schilling slipped to 2/3 thaler.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28,54 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB87; Dav-9942; Grimm 48; Kunzel 98.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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