KUENKER AUCTION SALE 437, PART ONE

No matter what field of modern numismatics you are interested in: If you are looking for a great rarity in perfect condition with an impressive provenance, Künker's Berlin auction on 28 January 2026 is the ideal opportunity for you. The catalog is filled with exceptional pieces, and this auction preview will present the most interesting ones. Although it is probably enough to note that the 694 lots have a total estimate of 6 million euros. Connoisseurs will recognize that this figure indicates numismatic treasures of the highest caliber.

Rarities from Brandenburg-Prussia

The auction opens with a selection of coins and medals from Brandenburg-Prussia – a fitting start given that the sale is taking place in Berlin. A large part of the pieces come from the collections of two renowned Berlin collectors.

Gunther Hahn is a familiar name to Künker's long-standing customers. His collection was auctioned off in Berlin as part of Künker's 300th auction. At the time, Mr. Hahn was not ready to part with all of his pieces. Now he will return those he kept to the cycle of collecting. Volker Schwartz is well known to all those who are interested in the Hohenzollern family. Since 1990, he has edited the prestigious journal "Beiträge zur Brandenburgisch/Preußischen Numismatik" (Contributions to Brandenburg-Prussian Numismatics), which is brought to life by scholars AND collectors. At auction 437, the first part of his extensive collection will come under the hammer. The second part will be offered at eLive Auction 91 in March 2026. The selection comprises 81 lots. It contains coins and medals with a time frame spanning the period from a 1543 taler of Elector Joachim II Hector to the vereinsmünze pieces (German monetary union coins) of William I from 1866. Without exception, the pieces are either of spectacular quality or extremely rare. Most of them are both.

Lovers of Renaissance art will be delighted by the portrait that Margrave John of Küstrin had immortalized on a 21-gram gold medal. Those interested in economic history are sure to be amazed by the 1686 and 1690 Guinea ducats of fabulous quality. Fans of Frederick the Great will find a wonderful selection of single and double Friedrich d'ors. Particularly noteworthy are the talers that Frederick II specifically had made for trade as they illustrate the enormous ambitions of the Prussian king. The piaster was produced for China, the Albertus taler for trade in the Baltic Sea, and the Levant taler for the Levant.

All the heavy gold medals that were used as awards and prizes in the 19th century are also quite remarkable. A good example of this is a gold medal of 30 ducats. It was awarded to the Prussian court supplier Hensel und Schumann. This is fitting, as Hensel und Schumann was a gold and silver manufacturer that was one of the most technologically advanced companies in the world at the time. The Brandenburg Royal Academy used only chemically pure gold and silver from Hensel und Schumann for scientific analysis. The best-selling product was Lyon gold and silver. This fabric surrounded by metal wires was an indispensable part of any impressive uniform in the 19th century. By the way, there is a second gold medal of 25 ducats from the Hahn Collection, which was also awarded to this company. It is also extremely rare. Only 69 specimens were produced.

No. 2: Brandenburg. Margrave John of Küstrin, 1535-1571. Gold cast medal, 1569. From the Gunther Hahn Collection. Extremely rare. Minor trace of mounting. Fields finely chased. Extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros

No. 3: Brandenburg. Margrave John of Küstrin, 1535-1571. 1578 reichstaler, Berlin. From the Volker Schwartz Collection. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 12,500 euros

No. 26: Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick William, 1640-1688. 2 ducats, 1654, Berlin. Probably the only specimen on the market. Very fine +. Estimate: 25,000 euros

No. 35: Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick William, 1640-1688, commemorating the death of Elisabeth Henriette, his daughter-in-law. 2 ducats, 1683. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 25,000 euros

No. 37: Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick III, 1688-1701. Guinea ducat, 1690, Berlin. From the Gunther Hahn Collection. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros

No. 58: Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick II, 1740-1786. 1766 albertustaler, Magdeburg. From the Gunther Hahn Collection. Extremely rare year. About FDC. Estimate: 10,000 euros

No. 70: Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick William III, 1797-1840. Gold award medal of 30 ducats n.d. (1821), engraved with 1827 for the silver and gold manufacturer Hensel und Schumann. From the Gunther Hahn Collection. 2nd known specimen. Extremely fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros

No. 78: Brandenburg-Prussia. William I, 1861-1888. 1/2 vereinskrone 1866. From the Volker Schwartz Collection. Extremely fine. Estimate: 2,000 euros

Showpieces from the Habsburg Empire

Will the historic rivalry between Prussia and the Habsburgs resurface during the auction? Will collectors from Vienna and Berlin compete to see whether an Austrian or a Prussian coin will realize the highest result? It will be exciting to see, especially because the 99 lots with Habsburg issues – including Austrian bishoprics and princes – are quite spectacular.

Most of the rarities originate from the renowned collection of Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, which took around 60 years to compile and is regarded as one of the most important coin collections in Austria. Dr. Wenzel was one of the figures who helped to revive the Austrian economy after the war. From 1951 until his retirement, he was Director General of the Radio-Austria A.G., a communication service specializing in the transmission of telegrams and telexes. Dr. Wenzel successfully restructured the company and transferred the majority of shares from English to Austrian state ownership. He received several awards for this, including the Austrian honorary title of Kommerzialrat. Since his childhood, Dr. Wenzel had devoted much time to building up a coin collection. He successfully acquired numerous extremely rare pieces, some of which have been part of his collection for more than half a century.

A good example of this is a spectacular representative issue of Maximilian I with the year of 1509 and a weight of five gulden. Another impressive specimen is the broad 1.5-fold reichstaler of the "Three Emperor Issue" type, which was probably created under Ferdinand II, Archduke of Tyrol, between 1564 and 1580.

The coin with the highest estimate in auction 437 – an impressive 200,000 euros – was minted under Leopold I. It is a diplomatic gift (ehrenpfennig) of 20 ducats from Hall, commemorating the final annexation of Tyrol to the Habsburg hereditary lands in 1666. In 1716, Dr. Wenzel acquired another rarity: a gold medal created under Charles VI to commemorate the laying of the foundation stone of St. Charles' Church in Vienna in 1716. The unique piece is of extremely fine quality.

No. 336: HRE. Maximilian I, 1490-1519. Quintuple representative guldiner, 1509, minted in Antwerp in 1517. From the collection of Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Vienna. Purchased in 1947 from Kralik. Extremely rare. Very fine +. Estimate: 25,000 euros

No. 342: HRE. Ferdinand, 1564-1595. Three emperors issue, broad 1.5-fold reichstaler n.d. (ca. 1565-1580), Hall. From the collection of Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Vienna. Purchased in November 1951. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros

No. 362: HRE. Ferdinand II, 1592-1618-1637. 5 ducats, 1628, Breslau. Very rare. Extremely fine +. Estimate: 20,000 euros

No. 376: HRE. Leopold I, 1657-1705. 20 ducats n.d. (after 1666), Hall, by M. König. Extremely rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 200,000 euros

No. 391: HRE. Charles VI, 1711-1740. Gold medal of 20 ducats, 1716, commemorating the laying of the foundation stone of St. Charles' Church in Vienna. Probably unique. From the collection of Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Vienna. Purchased at Dorotheum in 1962. Extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros

No. 423: Salzburg. Johann Ernst von Thun und Hohenstein, 1687-1709. 20 ducats 1687. NGC AU58. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 125,000 euros

To order a catalog contact Künker, Nobbenburger Straße 4a, 49076 Osnabrück; phone: +49 541 / 962020; fax: +49 541 / 9620222; or via e-mail: service@kuenker.de. You can access the auction catalogs online at www.kuenker.de. If you want to submit your bid from your computer at home, please remember to register for this service in good time.

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