Wolfstein 1719 1/2 thaler
This specimen was lot 280 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €3,600 (about US$4,670 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"WOLFSTEIN, GRAFSCHAFT, Christian Albrecht, 1693-1740. 1/2 Reichstalerklippe 1719, auf die Grundsteinlegung der Schloßkirche in Obersulzbürg. In US-Plastikholder der NGC mit der Bewertung MS 61 (6289964-001). Sehr selten, besonders in dieser Erhaltung. Attraktives Exemplar mit hübscher Patina, vorzüglich +. (Germany, county of Wolfstein, Christian Albert, 1693-1740, half thaler klippe of 1719, on the laying of the foundation stone of the castle church in Obersulzburg. Graded NGC MS61, very rare, especially in this quality, attractive example with handsome patina, choice extremely fine.)"
Wolfstein was a minor principality in the Holy Roman Empire, centered on Wolfstein castle, near Neumarkt in the Oberpfalz. It is so obscure that the SCWC lists no coins for it; the present example may actually be a medal. It became part of Bavaria when that state was merged with the Palatinate in 1777.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Kull 8; Slg. Opitz 2743.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [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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