Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
August 2015 ANA Auction - Session A 12 August 2015
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GERMANY. Trier. Taler, 1591. Johann VII (1581-99). NGC MS-62.
Dav-9923; MB-101. EXTREMELY RARE and possibly UNIQUE. The coin presented here is in exceptional condition, and likely the finest extant. The large silver Taler depicts Saint Peter striding left with the key to heaven on the obverse. On the reverse, a mitre atop the combined arms of Trier and Schönenberg. Struck under Johann von Schönenberg (Archbishop-Elector of Trier) at the height of the Trier witch trials and as such of extraordinary historic significance. A great admirer of the Jesuits and a leading figure in the counter-reformation, Johann von Schönenberg spearheaded the mass killing of three hundred sixty-eight in the cities and towns surrounding Trier, with perhaps as many as one thousand souls in the diocese as a whole eventually facing execution. Of the twenty-two villages near Trier purged of witches, two villages were left with only a single female survivor. No one was immune from the accusation of witchcraft and sorcery with a third of the victims coming from nobility, though special emphasis was directed towards Jews and Protestants. Much of the slaughter was driven purely from greed, as examiner and executioner alike prospered from seized property of the accused. From a very troubled time in Europe, the coin offered presents a terrific opportunity to own a piece of sixteenth century German cultural history, albeit dark and morose from any perspective. NGC MS-62.
Estimate: $25000.00- $35000.00
Dav-9923; MB-101. EXTREMELY RARE and possibly UNIQUE. The coin presented here is in exceptional condition, and likely the finest extant. The large silver Taler depicts Saint Peter striding left with the key to heaven on the obverse. On the reverse, a mitre atop the combined arms of Trier and Schönenberg. Struck under Johann von Schönenberg (Archbishop-Elector of Trier) at the height of the Trier witch trials and as such of extraordinary historic significance. A great admirer of the Jesuits and a leading figure in the counter-reformation, Johann von Schönenberg spearheaded the mass killing of three hundred sixty-eight in the cities and towns surrounding Trier, with perhaps as many as one thousand souls in the diocese as a whole eventually facing execution. Of the twenty-two villages near Trier purged of witches, two villages were left with only a single female survivor. No one was immune from the accusation of witchcraft and sorcery with a third of the victims coming from nobility, though special emphasis was directed towards Jews and Protestants. Much of the slaughter was driven purely from greed, as examiner and executioner alike prospered from seized property of the accused. From a very troubled time in Europe, the coin offered presents a terrific opportunity to own a piece of sixteenth century German cultural history, albeit dark and morose from any perspective. NGC MS-62.
Estimate: $25000.00- $35000.00