Coin Community Family of Web Sites Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors
Royal Canadian Mint products, Canadian, Polish, American, and world coins and banknotes. Vancouvers #1 Coin and Paper Money Dealer Specializing in Modern Numismatics Royal Estate Auctions - $1 Coin AuctionsJoin Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors Coin, Banknote and Medal Collectors's Online Mall 300,000 items to help build your collection!








Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?


This page may contain links that result in small commissions to keep this free site up and running.

Welcome Guest! Registering and/or logging in will remove the anchor (bottom) ads. It's Free!

Silver Taler Of Christian The Older, Lower Saxony, 1623

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.
Author Previous TopicReplies: 6 / Views: 2,218Next Topic  
New Member

United States
3 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2015  5:24 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add poesprogeny to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I'm new to this and tried reading all the rules for posting, so if I make a mistake here, sorry. Just let me know and I'll correct it. I inherited a coin, and after Googling various words together from the coin, I came across a coin that looks identical to mine in the Kittredge Collection. Newbies aren't supposed to post links, so I'll leave it at that. That particular coin says Object Type: coin, Denomination: taler, Material: Silver, Date: 1623
Authority
Dynasty: Welf (line)
Authority: Holy Roman Empire
Authority: Bishopric of Minden
Authority: Principality of Lüneburg
Geographic
Region: Lower Saxony
Obverse
Portrait: Christian the Older


Here's are my issues: Though I've found my coin, I don't know the framework of what category to put the coin in to look it up, get a grade on it, and possibly to establish a value. This is a German coin, right? I don't understand why it says one Authority is Holy Roman Empire. I saw there was a forum for Roman coins up to 1600, but this one is later.

I know next to nothing about numismatic aspects of coins. I've only been collecting silver for a year. I wasn't aware that silver cracked like that (it's not magnetic), and I don't know what the grade should be considering it's a 400 year old coin. To my eye, my coin is in much better shape than the one in the Kittredge Collection, except for the crack.

Any thoughts about how I classify this coin and where I can look to get some kind of value on it? I've attached images of my coin if that allow someone to help me to figure this out.

Thanks kindly!

Silver-Taler-Of-Christian-The-Older,-Lower-Saxony,-1623

Silver-Taler-Of-Christian-The-Older,-Lower-Saxony,-1623
Pillar of the Community
Medieval's Avatar
3772 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2015  7:17 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Medieval to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply


First a quick explanation:
The complete title was "Holy Roman Empire of German Nations" and in the words of Voltaire it is the greatest misnomer, he said it was "neither Holy, nor Roman or an Empire".
That being said, everyone into history or numismatics before 1900 knows that "HRE" stands for Germany at large.

Will look up your coin a little later, need some food right now.
New Member
United States
3 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2015  7:36 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add poesprogeny to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks for the help and info! Even if the coin's not worth much, I do like learning about this kind of stuff. I really enjoy history and thought I had a decent knowledge base going. I didn't know that about the HRE. I need to read up some more on Germany.

I was doing some more searching this evening and came across an auction lot advertisement. It doesn't have a picture, but has this info:

German States - Brunswick-Lüneburg. Taler, 1623. Dav-6441; KM-9.14. Christian. Bust right. Reverse: Helmeted arms. PCGS graded AU-53.
Estimated Value $400 - 450.


What's interesting is the Davis 6441 ID number that matches to the same ID number used in the Kittredge Collection coin that I saw online. It sounds like the same coin, but graded AU-53. I have no idea what the grade on mine would be if it's even the same coin.
Pillar of the Community
Medieval's Avatar
3772 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2015  8:00 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Medieval to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Here it goes, had a look into Krause's 1601-1700 catalogue (1996 edition).
The coin was issued by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ...%C3%BCneburg
So yes, it is found under Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle in the catalogue.
The territories of that duchy are in the modern German state of Lower Saxony.
As you can see from the wikipedia entry, he was for a time bishop of Minden (and the coin was minted during that period).
Minden itself is in Westphalia, which is part of the modern German state of North-Rhine-Westphalia.
There are many different varieties of that Thaler, none with the specifics of your coin though in Krause - Krause makes reference to the Davis numbers as well, for a specific attribution you might need to get hold of the Davis catalogue.

Your coin would grade at least aVF (conservative grading) and likewise a conservative estimate would put it above $100.
Someone who specialises in Thalers might give a better judgement on this.
New Member
United States
3 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2015  9:26 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add poesprogeny to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Hey, I appreciate the help a lot. I'm going to read that article you cited in just a minute. It's amazing the variety of coins that exist just within one area during one time period.

I didn't figure it would be a million dollar coin, but it's amazing that coins made in the last century can value thousands of times higher than a 400 year old coin.

You offered a grade, and I appreciate it. Does age of the coin factor into the grade? Does a VF that's 4 centuries old have to compare to a VF that's ten years old? If age is taken into account, is there literature or a place that give instructions on how to evaluate ancient coins vs. modern coins?

Thanks again. It's good information!
Pillar of the Community
Medieval's Avatar
3772 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2015  11:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Medieval to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
it's amazing that coins made in the last century can value thousands of times higher than a 400 year old coin


There are many collectors for 20th century coins and if one has a lower mintage that can push the prices up considerably.
You can get a high quality ancient Greek coin (ie well over 2,000 years old) of which a few hundred are known to exist for less than some modern coins where the mintage figure is known to be around 10,000.
Pillar of the Community
Petrus's Avatar
Belgium
2895 Posts
 Posted 01/19/2015  4:59 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Petrus to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
CHRISTIANUS Dei Gratia ELectoralis Episcopus MINden DUX Brunsvicensis ET Luneburgensis
Christian, by the grace of God, bishop-elector of Minen, duke of Brunswick and Luneburg
(I did not find the latin of Minden)

IUSTITIA ET CONCORDIA AN_NO 1623
justice and harmony

Very very nice coin
  Previous TopicReplies: 6 / Views: 2,218Next Topic  

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.



    




Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us  |  Advertise Here  |  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum © 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Forums
It took 0.29 seconds to rattle this change. Forums