Wolgast 1633 3 thaler Dav-LS273
This specimen was lot 30292 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $26,400. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Visually Impressive 3 Taler Minted for Distribution During the King's Funeral Procession. German States: Wolgast - Swedish Occupation. Gustav Adolf II Medallic Largesse 3 Taler (3 Riksdaler) 1633 AU55 NGC. Hinrich Martens as mintmaster. Struck upon the death of King Gustav Adolf II (Gustavus Adolphus) of Sweden at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. Simply a masterful presentation, and one of enormous historic importance for collectors of German and Swedish coinage-particularly enthusiasts of the Thirty Years' War. This denomination was altogether missing from Künker's 2012 sale of the Hagander Collection, as well as Spink's 1992 sale of the Milas Collection. One of the most beloved figures in the opposition to the Imperial forces of Ferdinand II, Gustav Adolph's body was embalmed in Weissenfels after his death and arrived in Wolgast, Pomerania in January 1633. In the procession of the royal corpse to the Baltic coast from the city for transportation back to Sweden, Jürgen Hornbostell was commissioned to the briefly reopened mint under Hinrich Martens to design new coins to be distributed (quite literally thrown) from behind the Queen Dowager Maria Eleonora's chariot. With costs for the procession quite high, attaining the necessary resources proved very difficult, requiring even the Queen's sink and a silver jug to be repurposed for the metal. Nevertheless, Lagerqvist records that 16 4 ducats, 20 4 talers, 60 2 talers, 240 1/2 talers, and 700 1/4 talers were so distributed. Through the constellation of their production and distribution factors, then, it is astonishing that such a specimen could have survived at all, let alone so close to Mint State. From the Paramount Collection."
This commemorative was struck 1633-34 on the death of the Protestant hero Gustavus Adolphus. The series included a quarter thaler thru quadruple thaler (Dav-LS272) and double ducat to sixty ducat.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 83.7 g, silver, this specimen 85.78 g.
Catalog reference: KM-M5, Dav-LS273 (under Erfurt), AAJ-10 (R), Hagander Collection-Unl
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., Large Size Silver Coins of the World, 16th-19th Centuries, 3rd Ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1991.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
Link to:
- city of Wolgast 1633 1/2 thaler, on the removal of the king's bones to Sweden
- Erfurt 1633 thaler, on the death of Gustavus Adolphus
- Erfurt 1633 double thaler, on the death of Gustavus Adolphus
- Sweden 1633 double riksdaler, on the death of Gustavus Adolphus
- city of Wolgast 1634 1/2 thaler
- 1634 thaler, Bogislav XIV, large bust
- 1634 thaler, Bogislav XIV, small bust
- Coins and currency dated 1633