Zurich 1624 2 thaler Dav-4637
This specimen was lot 32408 in Heritage sale 3041 (Chicago, August 2015), where it sold for $25,850. The catalog description[1] noted, "Zurich. Free City 2 Taler 1624 MS65 NGC. Simply magnificent. A bold strike with beautiful old cabinet gray toning and subtle blue iridescence in the legends. Being a double taler struck from taler dies, this coin has the benefit of having absolutely every part of the design, including the beaded border, fully visible. It's hard to imagine a coin so large and so old being this well preserved, and yet we have the present specimen. There have been less than ten examples of this particular Davenport number publicly sold in the last 15 years, and judging from the photographs and lot descriptions, this piece bests them all. Indeed, we wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be the finest known. We have sold just one other example of this type in our history; an NGC AU58 which sold for just under $8,000 in 2012, which essentially tied the world record for the type (a title currently held by an example sold by Hess-Divo in 2009 for 8,000 CHF hammer). Nonetheless, the difference between an AU58 and an MS65 can be astronomical, and when one has a coin that is as far ahead of its closest comparable results as this piece is, one has no choice but to ignore them when trying to determine its true value. We fully expect that this piece will far surpass the current records, as the finest known for a type deservedly should."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-4637, KM 38.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- Richter, Jürg, and Ruedi Kunzmann, Neuer HMZ-Katalog, Band 2: Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins 15//16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart, Regenstauf, Germany: H. Gietl Verlag GmbH, 2006.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World & Ancient Coins Auction 3041, featuring the Eric Beckman Collection of Canadian Coins, the Kaiser Collection of German Gold Coins and the Rudman Collection of Mexican Coins, Part I, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
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