Worms 1681-MK albus
This specimen was lot 4072 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabruck, March 2024), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,199 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Goldabschlag zu einem 1/2 Dukaten von den Stempeln des Albus 1681. GOLD. Von großer Seltenheit. Vorzüglich. Exemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 279, Osnabrück 2016, Nr. 3309. (bishopric of Worms, Franz Emmerich Kaspar von Waldbott von Bassenheim, 1679-82, off-metal strike of a 1681 albus in gold of half ducat weight. Extremely rare, extremely fine.)"
Worms neighbored Pfalz but was never part of it, being a prince-bishopric. It was destroyed by the French in 1689 and never recovered its former importance. It was annexed to France 1801-15 but then passed to Hesse-Darmstadt. This type was struck in billon 1681-82.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: billon, this specimen gold, 1.70 g.
Catalog reference: KM 123 (billon), KM Pn3 (gold), Joseph 418.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
Link to:
- 1651-ET ducat
- Worms 1709-IL thaler Dav-2846, groundbreaking of the new city hall
- Coins and currency dated 1681