Prussia 1719-HFH 1/16 thaler

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Künker sale 353, lot 3317

This specimen was lot 3317 in Künker sale 353 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €400 (about US$557 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRANDENBURG-PREUSSEN, PREUSSEN, KÖNIGREICH, Friedrich Wilhelm I. der Soldatenkönig, 1713-1740. 1/16 Taler 1719, HFH, Berlin. Prägung für das Herzogtum Geldern. Mit Signatur H : F : H auf der Vorderseite. Münzmeister Heinrich Friedrich Halter. R Fast sehr schön. Erworben am 1.9.1973. (Germany, kingdom of Prussia, Frederick William I, the Soldier King, 1713-40, one sixteenth thaler of 1719, Berlin mint. Struck for the duchy of Gelderland, with initials "H : F : H" on the obverse. Rare, very fine.)"

This rare one year type was accompanied by a 1/8 thaler, a 1/4 thaler and a 1/2 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.

History: After the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700, the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) broke out due to the fact that Charles II had no children and the heir to the Spanish line of the Habsburgs and his lands were contested. In Charles’ will it states that Philip of Anjou was the heir and he was backed by his 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 the Habsburg Monarchy 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 Hauge in 1701 and included England, Habsburg Austrian line, and the United Provinces to combat French dominance.

In 1702, Prussia joined the Grand Alliance to prevent French dominance. Towards the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, at the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, Prussia got control over 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: Crowned two-fold shield (Prussian eagle left; Gueldrian two opposing lions right), dividing date above with mint official's initials at base.
  • Obverse inscription: 1719 / HFH
  • Obverse inscription unabridged: 1719 / Heinrich Friedrich Halter

Reverse

  • Reverse description: Value with inscription in wreath.
  • Reverse inscription: 1/16 MON DVCAT GELD:
  • Reverse inscription unabridged: 1/16 (thaler) Moneta Ducatus Geldriensis
  • Reverse inscription translated: 1/16 thaler, Money of the Duchy of Gelderland

Mintmarks/Mint: Berlin.

Mint Official Marks/Initials/Names: HFH = Heinrich Friedrich Halter, mint master at Magdeburg from 1698-1721 and Berlin from 1718-1719

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 0.563 fine silver, this specimen 2,46 g.

Catalog reference: KM 201 (listed under Prussian Gelderland), v. Schr. 554; Olding 283.

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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