Friedland 1628 thaler Dav-3443

Künker sale 335, lot 4425

This specimen was lot 4425 in Künker sale 335 (Osnabrück, Germany, March 2020), where it sold for €65,000 (about US$85,059 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Albrecht, 1623-1634, Herzog von Friedland. Reichstaler 1628, Jitschin. 29.05 g. Stempelschneider Hans Rieger. * ALBERTVS · D . G . DVX · - FRIDLAN · ET · SAGAN : Geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit großem Kragen und umgelegtem Mantel, darunter die Jahreszahl 1628, unten in der Umschrift das Münzmeisterzeichen Sonne mit Gesicht in Klammern (Georg Reick, Münzmeister in Jitschin 1626-1630)//· SACRI · ROMANI · IMPERII · PRINCEPS · Mit dem Herzogshut bedeckter Schild, darin gekrönter Adler, auf der Brust vierfeldiges Wappen. RR Hübsche Patina, vorzüglich +. Aus der Sammlung Dr. Karl Walter Bach, München. Exemplar der Auktion Leu 74, Zürich 1998, Nr. 1842. (Germany, WALLENSTEIN, Albrecht, 1623-1634, Duke of Friedland, thaler of 1628, Jitschin mint. Dies by Hans Rieger. Obverse: armored, mantled bust right with a large collar, date and privy mark below; reverse: capped arms with a crowned eagle supporting quartered arms. Rare, attractive example with handsome patina, extremely fine or better.)"

Wallenstein was born into the minor Protestant nobility of Bohemia but converted to Catholicism while attending university in Italy. Seeking glory, he pursued a military career and eventually became the commander of the imperial troops during the Thirty Years War. His successes against the Protestants aroused the suspicion of the emperor and he was dismissed in 1630. He retired to his duchy of Friedland in northern Bohemia. Imperial defeats at the hands of Gustavus Adolphus forced the emperor to recall him but distrust of his loyalty remained. He was assassinated by his officers with the emperor's connivance in 1634. He issued thalers 1626-33, all rare. After Wallenstein's death, the duchy subsided into insignificance and no more coins were issued.

Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.

Specification: silver, this specimen 28.85 g.

Catalog reference: KM 28, Dav-3443 var.; Poley 70 (plate coin).

Source:

• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
• ^[1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 335: Bracteates from Upper Swabia and the area of the Lake Constance | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the Dr. Karl Walter Bach Collection of coins of the Austrian nobility, Special collections of Bavaria, Lubeck, Wurttemberg as well as siege coins from the Eberhard Link Collection. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2020.

Link to:

• 1626 half thaler
• 1626 thaler
• 1627 3 kreuzer
• 1627 thaler
• 1628 3 kreuzer
• 1628 thaler, Kuttenberg mint
• 1629 3 kreuzer
• 1629 half thaler
• 1629 10 ducats
• Coins and currency dated 1628