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March Signature Sale 3096 25-27 Mar 2021
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German States
Saxony. Friedrich August I "Butterfly" Taler (32 Groschen) ND (1708-1710) MS61 NGC, Dresden mint, KM-Unl. (prev. KM-M9), Dav-1616, Schnee-1007 (1709), Kop-11138 (R6), HCz-4663 (1733), Gum-2115. 32.6gm. A uniquely designed taler featuring a stylized butterfly motif to the obverse against a crowned monogram of Friedrich August I to the reverse. Very rare, and the first example of this elusive issue that we have encountered, this excellent Mint State specimen features a serene slate-gray tone set against surfaces revealing sharp glints of underlying mint luster, an undercurrent of pale orange-gold carrying across the fields. Sharply produced, with few meaningful distractions noted for the assigned grade, and a scarce opportunity to acquire such a fine example for a type that sales records suggest has appeared fewer than 5 times in recent decades.
Alternatively ascribed to both Poland and Saxony, the so-called Butterfly coinage of Friedrich August I of Saxony (August the Strong of Poland) has long confounded scholars and numismatists, largely owing to the lack of contemporary documents on its purpose, and its strange, un-naturalistic winged insect. Though various interpretations have postulated that this was meant to be an Apollo Butterfly, or that such coins were meant to either commemorate August's death or else serve as part of his love affair with Anna Constantia, Peter Arnold of the Dresden Münzkabinett instead suggests that they found issuance between the King's renunciation of the Polish throne by the Treaty of Altranstädt in September 1706, and his reacquisition of the Polish crown in 1710. Künker has gone further to state that, as such, they may have served as a medium to carry a political message of hope and confidence that August would regain his reign over the Kingdom of Poland.
Ex. Ponterio & Associates Auction 124 (January 2003, Lot 2230)
https://coins.ha.com/itm/german-states/saxony/german-states-saxony-friedrich-august-i-butterfly-taler-32-groschen-nd-1708-1710-ms61-ngc-/a/3096-30282.s?type=CoinArchives3096
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD
Saxony. Friedrich August I "Butterfly" Taler (32 Groschen) ND (1708-1710) MS61 NGC, Dresden mint, KM-Unl. (prev. KM-M9), Dav-1616, Schnee-1007 (1709), Kop-11138 (R6), HCz-4663 (1733), Gum-2115. 32.6gm. A uniquely designed taler featuring a stylized butterfly motif to the obverse against a crowned monogram of Friedrich August I to the reverse. Very rare, and the first example of this elusive issue that we have encountered, this excellent Mint State specimen features a serene slate-gray tone set against surfaces revealing sharp glints of underlying mint luster, an undercurrent of pale orange-gold carrying across the fields. Sharply produced, with few meaningful distractions noted for the assigned grade, and a scarce opportunity to acquire such a fine example for a type that sales records suggest has appeared fewer than 5 times in recent decades.
Alternatively ascribed to both Poland and Saxony, the so-called Butterfly coinage of Friedrich August I of Saxony (August the Strong of Poland) has long confounded scholars and numismatists, largely owing to the lack of contemporary documents on its purpose, and its strange, un-naturalistic winged insect. Though various interpretations have postulated that this was meant to be an Apollo Butterfly, or that such coins were meant to either commemorate August's death or else serve as part of his love affair with Anna Constantia, Peter Arnold of the Dresden Münzkabinett instead suggests that they found issuance between the King's renunciation of the Polish throne by the Treaty of Altranstädt in September 1706, and his reacquisition of the Polish crown in 1710. Künker has gone further to state that, as such, they may have served as a medium to carry a political message of hope and confidence that August would regain his reign over the Kingdom of Poland.
Ex. Ponterio & Associates Auction 124 (January 2003, Lot 2230)
https://coins.ha.com/itm/german-states/saxony/german-states-saxony-friedrich-august-i-butterfly-taler-32-groschen-nd-1708-1710-ms61-ngc-/a/3096-30282.s?type=CoinArchives3096
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-20000 USD