By Heidelberger Münzhandlung Herbert Grün ……
From November 14 to 15, 2017, Auction 73 of the Heidelberger Münzhandlung will take place. Herbert Grün has again assembled a catalog that contains rarities in the best grades imaginable – ranging from ancient times to the Federal Republic of Germany
From November 14 to 15, 2017, the Heidelberger Münzhandlung Herbert Grün e. K. will conduct its Auction 73. The spectrum ranges from antiquity to the Federal Republic of Germany. A large series consisting of more than 700 lots of ancient coins is followed up by almost 600 lots of world coins and medals, more than 100 lots from the Holy Roman Empire with mediatized princes as well as almost 800 lots from the German states. Succeeding the medals, more than 800 lots of post-1871 German coins will conclude the auction.
((1 – Lot 20. Celts. Treveri. 1/4 gold stater. Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 2,500 euros))
Ancient Coins
More than 700 lots comprising ancient coins will kick off Auction 73. These are old collector’s items with all strengths and weaknesses. In the past, rarity and the historical context were prioritized over a perfect grade. This means in turn that there is much to be discovered, including the quarter staters of the Treveri. Conservatively described as very fine, they are extremely rare, featuring on the obverse a stylized head and on the reverse a human-headed horse spurred by a charioteer.
((2 – Lot 264. Claudius, 41-54. Sestertius, countermark NCAPR. Coin fine, countermark very fine. Estimate: 150 euros))
More than 40 lots with Greek coins and more than 30 lots featuring Roman Provincial coins are next, before the nearly 80 lots with coins from the Roman Republic and the 450 lots with coins from Roman Imperial times will be called out. The connoisseur will find rare material at collector-friendly estimates. A small series with coins from the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which have been countermarked, serve as a good example. Our specimen is a sestertius of Claudius that bears the abbreviation NCAPR = Nummus Caesare Augusto Probatus.
((3 – Lot 458. Postumus, 260-269. Antoninianus, Cologne. Very rare. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 500 euros))
The collector of Postumus can’t get past this catalog. It lists almost 170 antoniniani and double sestertii of this emperor. It is already a very special specimen that will open this series: a very rare antoninianus from Cologne featuring Diana leading a hind.
Something very special will be called out under Lot 658: The collection of 610 coins of Magnentius and Decentius was not split up but is being offered as a whole.
((4 – Lot 672. Constantinus III, 407-411. Solidus, Trier. Rare variant. FDC. Estimate: 9,000 euros))
Struck in Trier, a solidus of Constantine III illustrates that the coins offered include many rare emperors and empresses, too.
((5 – Lot 731. England. Elizabeth I, 1558-1603. Crown, no date (1601-1602). Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 5,000 euros))
World Coins and Medals
Foreign countries will be next, offering many interesting specimens, among these a small series of English, French, and Flemish gold coins dating from the Late Middle Ages and early modern times. A gorgeous example is the rare double souverain d’or of Albert and Isabella of Tournai that was minted between 1598 and 1621 (724, VF-EF, estimate: 3,000 euros).
This era is also represented by an English crown that was struck between 1601 and 1602. It shows a portrait of Queen Elizabeth wearing a high ruff.
((6 – Lot 859. France. Besançon. Double schautaler 1564. Extremely rare. Very fine. Estimate: 4,000 euros))
More than 150 lots of French coins – with roughly half of it consisting of what numismatics call “féodal” – are offered in catalog 73. Whether a pfennig from the High Middle Ages, a Baroque medal, or gold from the 19th century – every collector of French coins is presented with a broad range of offers. Many specimens deserve special mentioning; we restrict ourselves to a double schautaler from the city of Besançon featuring the half-length portrait of Emperor Ferdinand I wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece on his ceremonial armor.
((7 – Lot 1062. Sweden. Frederik I, 1720-1751. Gold medal of 6 ducats 1746 on the birth of his grandson, Prince Gustav, minted from the gold yielded at the Västra Silvberg mine. Unique. Almost FDC. Estimate: 9,000 euros))
It goes without saying that at Grün the coins from the foreign countries include a large number of extremely rare pieces in the most magnificent grade. To name only two: a 1746 gold medal in the weight of 6 ducats of Swedish King Friedrich I. The unique specimen was minted from the gold of the Västra Silvberg mine and commemorates the birth of Prince Gustav.
((8 – Lot 1081. Switzerland / Grisons / Haldenstein. Julius Otto I von Schauenstein, 1628-1666. Ducat 1642. Extremely rare. Very fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros))
A ducat of the ‘Bündner Herrschaft’ Haldenstein is also extremely rare. It was minted in 1642 at the behest of Julius Otto I von Schauenstein.
((9 – Lot 1296. Holy Roman Empire. Matthias II, 1608-1619. 10 ducats no date, Prague. Gold strike from the dies of the dreikaisertaler. Extremely rare. Almost extremely fine. Estimate: 60,000 euros))
Holy Roman Empire and Austrian Mediatized Princes
A gold strike in the weight of 10 ducats from the dies of the dreikaisertaler constitutes the highlight of the coins from the Holy Roman Empire – a series that is certainly not poor in rarities.
The connoisseur discovers municipal talers with the most delicate patina ranging in the three-digit-region as well as rare gold coins that are likely to yield four- to five-digit results, for instance a quintuple ducat 1628 from Breslau (1299, VF+, estimate: 10,000 euros), a double ducat 1661 from Breslau (1302, VF, estimate: 5,000 euros), or a gold medal of four ducats on the capture of Ofen (1307, VF, estimate: 5,000 euros).
((10 – Lot 1377. Salzburg. Paris, Count of Lodron, 1619-1653. 10 ducats 1628 on the consecration of the cathedral. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 12,500 euros))
The small series of Salzburg gold coins has much to offer, too, as do the other coins of the mediatized princes. Suffice it to mention an extremely rare 1630 ducat from the County of Schlick that was minted in Nuremberg (1393, EF-FDC, estimate: 6,000 euros), and a small selection of gold coins from Transylvania, including a ducat of Gabriel Bathory 1612, minted in Nagybanya (1394, FDC, estimate: 7,500 euros).
((11 – Lot 1436. Baden-Durlach. Karl Friedrich, 1738-1811. Gold prize medal 1807 of the University of Heidelberg. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 7,000 euros))
German States
After all this, we are finally arriving at the true specialty of the Heidelberger Münzhandlung: German coins. Anybody looking for perfection is well-advised to pay a very close look, for there is much to discover at Grün. For instance, there is a small series of coins from Baden, including a gold prize medal of the University of Heidelberg featuring a portrait of Karl Friedrich rich in detail.
((12 – Lot 1496. Bavaria. Maximilian II Emanuel, 1679-1726. Double max d’or 1717. Extremely rare. Almost extremely fine. Estimate: 17,500 euros))
More than 140 lots comprising Bavarian coins will be called out, among these many gold coins of the greatest rarity, for example a double ducat dating from 1685 (1489, EF, estimate: 9,000 euros), a double max d’or from 1717, or an extremely rare ducat 1792 on the vicariate of Karl Theodor (1528, EF, estimate: 12,500 euros).
((13 – Lot 1529. Bavaria. Karl Theodor, 1777-1799. Ducat 1793 from Danube river gold. Extremely rare. Extremely fine to FDC. Estimate: 15,000 euros))
Whether Baden, Bavaria or the Palatinate – on offer are coins made from river gold in such a variety and quality that they leave nothing to be desired. Whether the Rhine River, the Danube, the Isar, or the Inn – specialized collectors find everything the heart could wish for.
To single out just one telling example: a 1793 ducat made from Danube gold that was fully struck from a fresh die and, additionally, comes in a perfect grade. This is by no means the only specimen in this wonderful grade.
((14 – Lot 1840. Nassau. Friedrich August zu Usingen, 1803-1816. Konventionstaler 1815, joint coinage on the visit of the mint of Ehrenbreitstein. First strike. Almost FDC. Estimate: 45,000 euros))
The unchallenged highlight is a konventionstaler of the two rulers Friedrich August Herzog von Nassau and Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst von Nassau in commemoration of their visit of the mint of Ehrenbreitstein in 1815. The first strike in the best grade imaginable is estimated at 45,000 euros.
A rarity of another kind is offered under Lot 1921 and Lot 1922. These are the remaining pieces from the treasure trove discovered in Landstuhl in 1878. The treasure trove was analyzed by several distinguished numismatists but never published in its entirety. The Heidelberger Münzhandlung offers the find divided into the pfennigs produced by the royal mint of Kaiserslautern (144 specimens; estimate: 3,000 euros) and the diocese of Metz (111 specimens; estimate: 1,250 euros).
((15 – Lot 2074. Saxe-Coburg- Gotha. Ernst I, 1826-1844. Konventionstaler 1835, Gotha. First strike, almost FDC. Estimate: 12,000 euros))
The nearly 70 lots from Saxony include a very special piece representing the small Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The obverse features Ernst I, known to history as the father of English Prince-consort Albert. What we see is a perfectly preserved first strike of the 1835 konventionstaler that renders the portrait and the coat of arms down to the smallest detail. The way it is struck virtually recalls modern proof minting technology.
((16 – Lot 2114. Schwäbisch Hall. Talerklippe 1746, Nuremberg. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 17,500 euros))
Minted in Nuremberg in 1746, a talerklippe from the city of Schwäbisch-Hall is of the utmost rarity.
((17 – Lot 2125. Speyer. Franz Christoph, Freiherr von Hutten zu Stolzenberg, 1743-1770. Gold medal 1761 in the weight of 8 ducats on his elevation to cardinal. Unique(?). Extremely fine. Estimate: 12,000 euros))
Small but impressive, a selection of gold coins from Speyer also deserves mentioning. It includes a 1761 gold medal in the weight of 8 ducats. In commemoration of the elevation of Franz Christoph, Freiherr von Hutten zu Stolzenberg, to cardinal, the coin’s reverse features Saint Christopher in front of the Speyer Cathedral, carrying the infant Christ across the Rhine River.
((18 – Lot 2148. Wallmoden-Gimborn. Johann Ludwig, 1782-1806. Ducat 1802, Hanover. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 11,000 euros))
Let us conclude with an extraordinarily rare 1802 ducat of Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn. The coin was struck at the Hanover Mint where the Imperial Count (‘Reichsgraf’) made his living as Commander-in-Chief of the army. Johann Ludwig was an illegitimate son of British King George II and became famous for his large collection of antiquities that, as a permanent loan, is still on display at the Archaeological Institute of the University of Göttingen.
((19 – Lot 2425. German Empire. 1 mark 1891 D. Almost FDC. Estimate: 6,000 euros))
Post-1871 German Coins
More than 600 lots of post-1871 German coins will conclude the sale. As always, the Heidelberger Münzhandlung offers a rich selection that places a focus not on gold, as a material that is found much more frequently, but on rare fractions. When in a perfect grade, these are much harder to come by than many a rare gold coin. Cases in point are the 20 pfennigs piece 1873 E in almost FCD (estimate: 1,400 euros), the 1 mark piece 1891 D in almost FDC (estimate: 6,000 euros), and the 10 pfennigs piece 1918 D in almost FDC (estimate: 2,000 euros), as the best preserved specimen known to Herbert Grün.
((20 – Lot 2805. German Empire. Prussia. Wilhelm II, 1888-1918. 10 marks 1889. Very rare. Very fine / Extremely fine. Estimate: 5,000 euros))
The catalog features more than 220 lots with silver coins from the German Empire and another 180 with gold coins, which could have been expected as the Heidelberger Münzhandlung is known for its expertise on coins from the German Empire. As usual, a large number of rarities in outstanding grades can be found here.
The catalog can be purchased for 12.50 euros at Heidelberger Münzhandlung Herbert Grün, Gaisbergstr. 40, 69115 Heidelberg; phone ++49 / 6221 / 65 2970; fax: ++49 / 6221 / 65 297-29; e-mail: [email protected] or at http://www.hdmhg.de/pgs/Katalog/_Katalog.html.
The catalog can also be viewed online, either under the address above or on Sixbid. Click here to go to Auction 73.
