Mainz 1689 sol

Künker sale 404, lot 2560

This specimen was lot 2560 in Künker sale 404 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €850 (about US$1,115 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"DIE STADT MAINZ. DIE FRANZÖSISCHE BESETZUNG, 1688-1689. 1 Sol 1689. Notgeld des französischen Kommandanten Marquis d’Uxelles, geprägt während der Bela­gerung durch die kaiserlichen Truppen. Die Wertzahl 3 in glatten Klammern. Spiegel­monogramm Ludwigs XIV. Von Frankreich in gekrönter Kartusche, darunter Wertzahl (3)//[drei Ringe übereinander] II [drei Ringe übereinander] /SOLS / 1689. Von größter Seltenheit. Gewellt, schön-sehr schön. Exemplar der Auktion Westfälische Auktionsgesellschaft 72, Dortmund 2015, Nr. 894. (Germany, city of Mainz, one sol of 1689, emergency coinage of the French commander marquis d'Uxelles, struck while besieged by imperial troops. Obverse: value in brackets; reverse: monogram of Louis XIV in a crowned cartouche, value below. Extremely rare, bent, very fine to extremely fine.)"

See the 1689 2 sols, struck under French occupation for a full story of the siege. The "3" mentioned in the auction description appears on that coin, not this. This example realized double the catalog vallue.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver or billon, this specimen 1,19 g.

Catalog reference: KM 186, Brause-Mansfeld Tf. 18, 6; Engel/Fabre/Perret/Wattier 4.1.15.6; Slg. Pick I (Auktion Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. 405) -; Slg. Walther -.

Source:

• Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• Korchnak, Lawrence C., Siege Coins of the World, 1453-1902, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, 2021.
• ^[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.

Link to:

• 1689 2 sols, struck under French occupation
• 1689-GFS 1/12 thaler
• 1689 1/6 thaler, struck under French occupation = 15 kreuzer
• 1689 ⅓ thaler, struck under French occupation = 30 kreuzer
• 1689 ⅔ thaler, with obverse legend, struck under French occupation
• 1689 ⅔ thaler, without obverse legend, struck under French occupation
• Coins and currency dated 1689