Mainz 1763 1/4 thaler

Künker sale 386, lot 4795

This specimen was lot 4795 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €1,100 (about US$1,422 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, 1743-1763. 1/4 Reichstaler 1763, unbestimmte Münzstätte, auf seinen Tod. RR Vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. (archbishopric of Mainz, John Frederick Charles of Ostein, 1743-63, quarter thaler of 1763, unknown mint, on his death. Very rare, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"

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, a death commemorative, was accompanied by a groschen (KM 338) and an eighth thaler (KM 340). A sede vacante ("vacant seat") half thaler and thaler were also struck in 1743, pending the election of his successor.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, this specimen 7,08 g.

Catalog reference: KM 342, Slg. Walther 524; Slg. Pick -.

Source:

• Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
• 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, 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:

• 1743 groschen, death of Philipp Karl
• 1743 1/8 thaler, death of Philipp Karl
• 1745 double ducat
• 1760 ducat
• 1763 groschen, death of Johann Friedrich Karl
• 1764-EG thaler
• 1765-EG half thaler
• 1765-EG thaler
• Coins and currency dated 1763