Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3051 8-9 January 2017
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Poland
Georg Freiherr von Derfflinger silver Medal ND (c. 1674-1682) XF, by Johann Höhn, 52mm, 65.61g, Köhler III, p.121. A very rare medal commemorating Georg as a Freiherr of the Holy Roman Empire and a Field-Marshal in the service of Brandenburg. The obverse displays light wear and numerous minuscule marks in the fields while the reverse is relatively unscathed, exhibiting only light friction while traces of iridescent-toned luster flash from protected areas. It reinforces Georg's position as a leader in war with depictions of both Mars and Hercules. Undated, our estimate of an approximate date-range for the production of this piece is based on the period of time from when Georg was elevated to Reichsfreiherr by Leopold I in 1674 and when he was appointed the governor of the fortress of Küstrin in Poland just across the Oder from Brandenburg in 1682. Our efforts to locate auction appearances of this rarity brought us no closer to the present date than a Rosenberg/Schott-Wallerstein sale in 1904 (21 November 1904, Lot 6940).
Georg von Derfflinger came from a poor Austrian Protestant family. Forced to leave home by the Thirty Years' War, he eventually worked his way through the ranks to the position of Field-Marshal, where he was instrumental in leading the armies that drove the Swedes from Brandenburg in the mid-1670's. A soldier to the end, he died in 1695 at 89 years of age after participating in the campaign against France as part of the Nine Years' War (War of the League of Augsburg).
Estimate: 2000-2500 USD
Georg Freiherr von Derfflinger silver Medal ND (c. 1674-1682) XF, by Johann Höhn, 52mm, 65.61g, Köhler III, p.121. A very rare medal commemorating Georg as a Freiherr of the Holy Roman Empire and a Field-Marshal in the service of Brandenburg. The obverse displays light wear and numerous minuscule marks in the fields while the reverse is relatively unscathed, exhibiting only light friction while traces of iridescent-toned luster flash from protected areas. It reinforces Georg's position as a leader in war with depictions of both Mars and Hercules. Undated, our estimate of an approximate date-range for the production of this piece is based on the period of time from when Georg was elevated to Reichsfreiherr by Leopold I in 1674 and when he was appointed the governor of the fortress of Küstrin in Poland just across the Oder from Brandenburg in 1682. Our efforts to locate auction appearances of this rarity brought us no closer to the present date than a Rosenberg/Schott-Wallerstein sale in 1904 (21 November 1904, Lot 6940).
Georg von Derfflinger came from a poor Austrian Protestant family. Forced to leave home by the Thirty Years' War, he eventually worked his way through the ranks to the position of Field-Marshal, where he was instrumental in leading the armies that drove the Swedes from Brandenburg in the mid-1670's. A soldier to the end, he died in 1695 at 89 years of age after participating in the campaign against France as part of the Nine Years' War (War of the League of Augsburg).
Estimate: 2000-2500 USD