KUENKER AUCTION SALE 428

The coins and medals on offer feature not only portraits of the Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John. We repeatedly encounter the Order of Knights' patron saint, St. John, or rather his head, which is usually depicted lying on a platter. Such depictions are also known from sculpture. Many Order churches had three-dimensional reminders of the beheading caused by Salome, some of which still exist today.

No. 1116: Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Juan de Omedes, 1536-1553. 4 tari, 1662, Birgu or Fort St. Angelo. Very rare. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 7,500 euros

No. 1134. Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Hugues Loubens de Verdalle, 1582-1595. 4 tari, n.d., Valletta. Estimate: 4,000 euros

Of course, auction 428 also contains a rich selection of rarities from the field of world coins. We can only make mention of a few examples here.

No. 1111: Italy. Victor Emmanuele II, 1859-1861-1878. 5 lire, 1859, Bologna. Extremely rare. About FDC. Estimate: 17,500 euros

No. 1177: Poland. Stephen Báthory, 1576-1586. 1585 reichstaler, Baia Mare. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros

No. 1264: HRE. Tyrol. Ferdinand I, 1522-1558-1564. 1528 representative taler, Hall. Commemorating the hereditary homage paid by the Tyrolean diet. Extremely rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 30,000 euros

There is also a rich selection of pieces from the German States. At this point, we can only mention a Bremen double taler by George of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1562. Bishop George was and remained Catholic during the conflicts surrounding the Reformation; however, he was unable to keep his bishoprics within the Catholic Church. Protestant historians have therefore tried to portray him as a reformist.

The fourth son of Henry I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, George was destined for a career in the Church. Following his failure to take over the archbishopric of Riga in 1527, his family secured him the positions of provost in Hildesheim, cathedral provost in Cologne and in Bremen, and canonry in St. Gereon and Strasbourg. These offices did not only come with a generous income, but also with the theoretical possibility to advance to an even higher ecclesiastical office. His election as Bishop of Minden in 1554 came as something of a surprise, as his nephew Julius had actually been intended to fill this position. But the latter unexpectedly became heir apparent and recommended his uncle as his replacement to the Minden Cathedral Chapter. Four years later, George was also elected archbishop of Bremen and Verden, again succeeding a family member – his heavily indebted elder brother Christoph. Having been so successful in accumulating ecclesiastical offices, the ruler lists all these offices on his double taler: Archbishop of Bremen, confirmed [Bishop] of Minden and Verden, Duke of Brunswick. The last title obviously does not mean that George served as Duke of Brunswick. He was merely entitled to bear this title.

No. 1348: Brandenburg-Prussia. 1684 reichstaler, Magdeburg. Very rare. About FDC. Estimate: 35,000 euros

No. 1389: Brunswick and Lüneburg. Rudolph Augustus, 1666-1685. Löser of 4 reichstalers, 1679, Zellerfeld. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 50,000 euros

No. 1419: Bremen / Bishopric. George of Brunswick, 1558-1566. 1562 double taler, Bremen. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 75,000 euros

No. 1511: Mainz / Bishopric. Lothar Friedrich von Metternich-Burscheid, 1673-1675. 1674 broad double reichstaler, Mainz. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 30,000 euros

No. 1654: Prussia. Large silver coin tankard, created for the coronation of William I of Prussia on 18 October 1861. Extremely fine. Estimate: 25,000 euros

The term "numisnautics" has established itself over the past few decades. It was coined by the German numismatist Wolf Müller-Reichau when he and a few colleagues launched the magazine Flaschenpost (message in a bottle) as an information bulletin for the Numismatics Working Group in Germany. While ship depictions have long been a popular theme for collectors internationally, Flaschenpost drew the attention of many German collectors to questions about the history of nautical science that can be answered with the help of coins. Künker is pleased to offer the collection of a Berlin numisnautist, the first part of which is divided between auction catalogs 427 and 428. A second part will be auctioned in an upcoming eLive auction.

No. 1073: England. Elizabeth I, 1558-1603. 1588 silver medal, minted, unsigned, commemorating the destruction of the Spanish Armada. Very rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 2,500 euros

As usual, the 2025 Fall Auction Sales will feature an interesting series of coins from the German Empire. Here are some of the highlights.

No. 1709: German Empire. Bavaria. 3 marks, 1918. Golden wedding jubilee of the royal Bavarian couple. Very rare. About FDC. Estimate: 30,000 euros

No. 2045: German Empire. Reuss / Older line. Henry XXII, 1859-1902. 20 marks, 1875. Very rare. Very fine to extremely fine / Extremely fine. Estimate: 25,000 euros

No. 2093: German New Guinea. 10 New Guinean marks, 1895. Very rare. Only 2,000 specimens minted. Extremely fine to FDC. Estimate: 50,000 euros

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