Mainz 1671 albus

Künker sale 386, part of lot 4734

This specimen was part of lot 4734 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), which sold for €190 (about US$246 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Johann Philipp von Schönborn, 1647-1673. Albus 1650 -1657, 1666 -1672, Mainz. 15 Stück., Sehr schön. (archbishopric of Mainz, John Philip of Schonborn, 1647-73, albuses of 1650-72. Fifteen pieces, very fine.)"

The archbishops of Mainz were prolific issuers of gold coins in the late middle ages but output dropped in the late fifteenth century, never to recover. This type of 1664-71 is not listed as expensive but is doubtless very scarce in nice condition. The albus, or two kreuzer, was issued by several states along the Rhine and achieved popularity because of its good alloy. This type, issued after the devastation of the Thirty Years War, is unlikely to be of good silver altho the SCWC wisely refrains from so stating.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver or billon.

Catalog reference: KM 117, Slg. Walther 294 ff; Slg. Pick 408 ff.

Source:

• 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 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.

Link to:

• 1661 kreuzer
• 1670-MF ducat
• 1671-MF 30 kreuzer = half gulden
• 1671-MF 60 kreuzer = gulden
• 1672-MF 60 kreuzer = gulden
• Coins and currency dated 1671