Magdeburg 1537 1/2 guldengroschen

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Künker sale 404, lot 2278
Halberstadt and Magdeburg in 1547

This specimen was lot 2278 in Künker sale 404 (Osnabruck, March 2024), where it sold for €1,600 (about US$2,099 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"DAS ERZBISTUM MAINZ. ERZBISCHOF ALBRECHT II. VON BRANDENBURG, 1514-1545. Prägungen Albrechts von Brandenburg als Erzbischof von Magdeburg, 1513-1545. ½ Guldengroschen 1537, Magdeburg. Münzmeister Anton Grans. Unter Kardinalshut vierfeldiges Wappen (Brandenburg/Pommern/Nürnberg/Hohenzollern) mit den Mittelschilden Magdeburg, Mainz und Halberstadt, oben Kreuz, dahinter Schwert und Krummstab gekreuzt//Brustbild mit Barett r. Von größter Seltenheit. Korrosionsspuren, leicht gewellt, sehr schön. Exemplar der Slg. Friedrich Popken, Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 263, Osnabrück 2015, Nr. 347. (Germany, archbishopric of Mainz, Albert II of Brandenburg, 1514-45, half guldengroschen of 1537, Magdeburg mint. Obverse: cardinal's hat over the quartered arms of Brandenburg, Pomerania, Nuremberg and Hohenzollern charged with the escutcheon of Madgeburg, Mainz and Halberstadt, sword and crozier behind; reverse: bust with biret right. Extremely rare, traces of corrosion, slightly wavy, very fine.)"

Albrecht, who was already in debt for his seats as archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of Halberstadt, took out a loan to finance the fees he paid the pope for the throne of Mainz. He attempted to pay off the loan by selling indulgences, raising the ire of an obscure monk named Martin Luther. The last archbishop of Magdeburg died in 1566, the diocese being ruled by Lutheran administrators thereafter. The job was the property of the Hohenzollerns 1513-1631. The archdiocese converted to Lutheranism in the 1540's and was administered by Protestants until its annexation by Brandenburg in 1680. This type was struck 1537-40. The half guldengroschen or half guldiner would split into two denominations by the end of the sixteenth century. As the thaler rose to 72 kreuzer, the half thaler rose to 36 kreuzer, while the half gulden remained fixed at thirty kreuzer.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, this specimen 14,35 g.

Catalog reference: KM MB47, Slg. Pick I (Auktion Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. 405) -; Slg. Walther -; v. Schr. 107.

Source:

  • Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
  • 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, Katalog 404: Coins and Medals of the City of Mainz - The Prof. Dr. Eckhart Pick Collection, Part II, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.

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