Prussia 1719-HFH 1/2 thaler

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Künker sale 353, lot 3314

This specimen was lot 3314 in Künker sale 353 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,340 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRANDENBURG-PREUSSEN, PREUSSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich Wilhelm I. der Soldatenkönig, 1713-1740. 1/2 Reichstaler 1718, HFH, Berlin. Prägung für das Herzogtum Geldern. Mit Signatur L am Armabschnitt. Münzmeister Heinrich Friedrich Halter. Stempelschneider Christian Friedrich Lüders. Von großer Seltenheit. Fast sehr schön. Erworben am 1.5.1983. (Germany, kingdom of Prussia, Frederick William I, the Soldier King, 1713-40, half thaler of 1718, Berlin mint. Struck for the duchy of Gelderland, with initial "L". Extremely rare, about very fine.)"

This rare one year type was accompanied by a 1/16 thaler, a 1/8 thaler and a 1/4 thaler, as well as a thaler the year before. The series was struck for Prussian Gelderland, a small province on the border with the Netherlands.

After the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700, the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) broke out. Charles left the Spanish dominions to Philip of Anjou in his will in the hope that they would not be partitioned. In this, he was backed by Philip's grandfather, Louis XIV, king of France. The Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg) was an anti-French alliance made in 1689 and was made up of the Dutch Republic, England, and Austria which disbanded after the Nine Years war in 1697. This alliance was reformed prior to the War of Spanish Succession by the Treaty of the Hague in 1701 and included the same parties. All feared French dominance in Europe. In 1702, Prussia joined. At the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, Prussia was rewarded with a section of Upper Guelders that was previously part of the Spanish Netherlands.

Ruling Authorities:

  • Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, Duke of Prussian Gelderland from 1713-1740.

Obverse:

  • Obverse description: Bust facing right with engraver's initial at end of arm.
  • Obverse inscription: FRID·WILH·D·G·REX·BOR·EL·BR·DVX·GELDERIAE· / L
  • Obverse inscription unabridged: Fridericus Wilhelmus Dei Gratia Rex Borussiae Elector Brandenburgensis Dux Gelderiae / Lüders
  • Obverse inscription translated: Friedrich Wilhelm, by the Grace of God, King of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg, Duke of Gelders / Lüders

Reverse:

  • Reverse description: Crowned four-fold shield with inescutcheon (Hohenzollern scepter top left; County of Horne Horn top right; Neuchâtel three chevrons bottom left; Gueldrian opposing lions right; Prussian eagle as inestucheon middle), crown divides date above and shield divides mint master's initials at the middle.
  • Reverse inscription: 1719 / H·F· H·
  • Reverse inscription unabridged: 1719 / Heinrich Friedrich Halter

Mintmarks/Mint: Berlin.

Mint Official Marks/Initials/Names: L = Christian Friedrich Lüders, engraver at Berlin from 1702-1742; HFH = Heinrich Friedrich Halter, mint master at Magdeburg from 1698-1721 and Berlin from 1718-1719.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 0.868 fine silver, this specimen 14,01 g.

Catalog reference: KM 204 (listed under Prussian Gelderland), v. Schr. 550; Olding 280.

Source:

  • 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, Künker Auktion 353: Die Sammlung Axel Tesmer, Teil 2: Prägungen der Könige von Preussen von der Kroning 1701 bis zum Ende der Monarchie. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.

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