Austria 1607 thaler Dav-3006A
This specimen was lot 82 in Künker Auction 423 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €2,800 (about US$3,965 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HABSBURGISCHE ERBLANDE-ÖSTERREICH · RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Rudolf II., 1576-1612. Reichstaler 1607, Hall. Alchimistentaler. Geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit Lorbeerkranz, umgelegtem Mantel und Alchimistenzeichen am Arm//Gekröntes, mehrfeldiges Wappen (Ungarn, Tirol, Böhmen / Habsburg, Burgund, Österreich, Kastilien / Kärnten, Krain, Steiermark, Görz / Burgau, Schwaben, Württemberg, Elsaß), umher die Kette des Ordens vom Goldenen Vlies. R Vorzüglich. Exemplar der Auktion H. D. Rauch 56, Wien 1996, Nr. 1818. (Holy Roman Empire, Rudolf II, 1576-1612, "alchemist's" thaler of 1607, Hall mint. Obverse: laureate, mantled and armored bust right with alchemist's signs; reverse: crowned manifold arms of Hungary, Tyrol, Bohemia, Hapsburg, Burgundy, Austria, Castile, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, Gorizia, Burgau, Swabia, Wurttemberg and Alsace, order chain around. Extremely fine.)"
This thaler derives its nickname form the alchemical symbols on the emperor's robe--the emperor's interest in the occult aroused the contempt of the rest of his family--instead of the conventional armor shown on Dav-3006.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 29 g, silver, 42 mm diameter, this specimen 28,82 g.
Catalog reference: KM 82 (formerly KM 604), M./T. 380; Dav-3006 Anm.; Voglh. 96 IX.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Cuhaj, George S., Thomas Michael and Douglas Nicol, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd Ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- Heinz Moser and Heinz Tursky, Die Munzstatte Hall in Tirol, 2 vols. Innsbruck: Verlag Dr Rudolf Erhad, 1981.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 423: Coins and medals from Tyrol - The collection of Dipl.-Ing. Hermann Wohnlich., Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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