Brunswick 1546 thaler Dav-9097
This specimen was lot 4093 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €2,000 (about US$2,752 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG, STADT Taler 1546. Sogenannter Schmalkaldischer Bundestaler. RR Hübsche Patina, leichte Prägeschwäche, kl. Graffito im Feld der Rückseite, sehr schön. Exemplar der Sammlung Münzen und Medaillen aus adeligem Privatbesitz. (city of Brunswick, thaler of 1546, the so-called "Schmalkaldic League" thaler. Very rare, handsome patina, slightly weakly struck, small graffito in the reverse field, very fine.)"
The city of Brunswick was the capital of the dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel yet simultaneously claimed the mint right and struck an extensive series of coinage until 1678. The Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes and cities was formed in 1531 and was tested in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546-48, in which Charles V defeated and captured Johann Frederick the Magnanimous, elector of Saxony.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 29.03 g, silver, this specimen 28,88 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB31, Dav-9097; Jesse 34.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Davenport, John S., German Talers, 1500-1600, Frankfurt am Main, Numismatischer Verlag P. N. Schulten, 1979.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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