1 November 2016
London Coin Galleries in cooperation with Künker, Osnabrück
Auction sale 2: The Preussag Collection - Part II

Part 2 of the Preussag Collection will be auctioned off inLondon

On 1 November 2016 the second part of the Preussagcollection will be auctioned off by London Coin Galleries incooperation with Künker in Osnabrück. The material comprises 772lots of mining coins, estimated at 630,000 GBPaltogether.

On 1 November 2016 London Coin Galleries, in cooperation withKünker, will be selling the second part of the Preussagcollection of mining coins by auction in London. The collectionhad been put together since the 1970s under the supervision ofKarl Müseler. The first part of the collection, which included,among others, 217 lösers, was already dissolved with greatsuccess in October 2015.

((No. 1017: BRANDENBURG. Frederick William, 1640-1688. Ducat1638, LCS, Berlin. "Guinea ducat." Very rare. Very fine.Estimate: 2,500 GBP))

The second and last part of the Preussag collection -altogether 772 lots with a total estimate of 630,000 GBP -doesn't offer quite so spectacular material, but collectors andexperts in this area will still find attractive pieces.Especially collectors of German coins will be pleased. After all,the largest part of the auction with almost 600 lots comes fromthe German States.

((No. 1032: BRUNSWICK-GRUBENHAGEN. Wolfgang and Philipp II,1567-1595. Reichsthaler (24 groschen) 1594, Andreasberg, from theyield of the St Andrew's mine. Very rare. Very fine to extremelyfine. Estimate: 1,000 GBP))

By far the most comprehensive series of 260 lots comes fromthe different principalities of Brunswick-Lüneburg. It beginswith a series of rare reichtsthalers of the Principality ofBrunswick-Grubenhagen, minted in the years between 1594 and 1596from the yield of the St Andrew's mine. Take, as an example, areichsthaler of 24 groschen featuring the title of Rudolf II from1594, graded very fine to extremely fine.

((No. 1043: BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBÜTTEL. Henry Julius, 1589-1613.Reichsthaler 1596, Andreasberg, from the yield of the St Andrew'smine. Extremely rare. Very fine. Estimate: 1,000 GBP))

After the death of Philipp II, Henry Julius of Wolfenbütteloccupied the Principality of Grubenhagen and took over theprofitable St Andrew's mine so that the section BrunswickWolfenbüttel also starts with thalers which show Saint Andrew andwere minted from the yield of the St Andrew's mine. The earliestpieces date back to the year of the occupation, 1596, like thisextremely rare mule from 1596 graded very fine.

((No. 1072: BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBÜTTEL. Frederick Ulrich,1613-1634. Löser of 1 1/2 reichstalers 1625, Goslar orZellerfeld. Yield from the St Jacob's mine in Lauthenthal. Veryrare. Almost extremely fine. Estimate: 3,000 GBP))

Frederick Ulrich had been using the St Andrew's mine duringthe first years of his reign but, at the Reichskammergericht'scommand, had to hand it over to Christian I of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose turn it was now to mint thalers from the silverof the Andrew's mine. Frederick Ulrich, however, could takecomfort in the fact that the St Jacob's mine in Lautenthalyielded great profits. Its silver was minted into the stunningjakobslösers, of which a last specimen of the Preussag collectionwill be auctioned off in this part of the auction.

((No. 1111: BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBÜTTEL. Charles William Ferdinand,1780-1806. Ducat 1783, Brunswick. "Harzgold Ducat." Very rare.Extremely fine. Estimate: 1,250 GBP))

In this auction impressive medals featuring mining themes aswell as a large number of Harzgold ducats are up for sale. Inaddition, there is yet another batch of lösers this time, forinstance the type from Christian Louis from Clausthal, whichshows the Saxon Steed jumping over a mining landscape, or thelösers from Zellerfeld depicting the Wild Man.

((No. 1277: HANNOVER. Gold medal, 1830, by R. V. Jeuffroy, onthe breakdown of the Treaty of Amiens and the occupation ofHannover by Consul Napoleon. Extremely rare. Probably uniquespecimen in gold. Extremely fine to FDC. Estimate: 5,000GBP))

Lot 1277 lists a very special piece, which is not strictly amining coin. We are dealing with a specimen of the medal of 1803that R. Jeuffroy created on behest of Napoleon on the breakdownof the Treaty of Amiens and the occupation of Hannover, cast ingold. Until now this piece was known in silver and bronzeversions only. For the former, Napoleon must have used silverfrom the Welf mines, as can be read on the medal. Thisdescription, however, was kept on the bronze and gold medal. Thelatter seems to be the only surviving specimen, if not the onlyspecimen struck, and, on top of that, from the possession of theBonaparte family.

((No. 1315: HENNEBERG. 1/2 Reichsthaler 1696, Ilmenau. Thickthaler, minted with the dies of the 1/4 reichsthaler. Yield fromthe Ilmenau mine. Extremely rare, probably unique. Almostextremely fine. Estimate: 3,000 GBP))

The auction also presents a comprehensive series fromHenneberg, Hesse, and especially from Hohnstein County. Let apiece of Henneberg be mentioned, which is likely a uniquespecimen, a half reichsthaler from 1696, a thick thaler to bemore precise, minted with the dies of the 1/4 reichsthaler inIlmenau.

((No. 1325: HESSE-MARBURG. Louis IV, 1567-1604. Thick doublereichsthaler from 1588, Gladenbach. Yield of the Gladenbachmines. 3rd known specimen. Very fine. Estimate: 7,500 GBP))

Hesse is represented in our preview by a thick doublereichsthaler from 1588 from the yield of the Gladenbach mines, ofwhich there are only three known specimen. The Gladenbach mint,which minted this piece, was moved to Marburg, the capital ofLouis IV, as early as 1590.

((No. 1394: HOHNSTEIN. Volkmar Wolfgang, 1562-1582. Thickdouble reichsthaler, 1576, Ellrich. Yield from the St Andrew'smine. Extremely rare. Mounting removed, very fine. Estimate:1,500 GBP))

The coinage from Hohnstein County brings us back to thedepiction of Andrew that we already know from Brunswick. In factthe Andrew's mine was originally located on territory of theCount of Hohnstein. When the house died out in 1593, the Duke ofBrunswick- Grubenhagen confiscated the land in his position asoverlord to bring the profitable silver mine in his possession.Even though the real heirs filed a suit at theReichskammergericht, they were poorly compensated with severalinsignificant territories, while the valuable silver mineremained in the possession of the House of Welf.

Many thalers and other coins testify to the former wealth ofthe House of Hohnstein, so for instance this thick doublereichsthaler from 1576, produced in Ellrich from the yield of theSt Andrew's mine.

((No. 1464: SAXONY, Electorate. John George III, 1680-1691.Silver medallion of 8 reichsthalers 1690, by M. H. Omeis, yieldfrom the St Anna and Altväter mine. Very rare. Extremely fine.Estimate: 2,500 GBP))

Let us turn to Saxony, represented with just under a 100 lots.The Elector of Saxony controlled the mining area surroundingFreiberg and thus had one of the richest silver resources at hisdisposal, which was one of the defining factors that enabled histaking an important role in the German States. Numerous thalersfrom 1542 onwards are on offer, also magnificent medals such as astunning silver medallion of 8 reichsthalers from 1690, whichaccurately depicts how silver mining worked with the latesttechnology at the time.

((No. 1533: MÜNSTERBERG-OELS. Charles I, 1511-1536. Ducat1530, Reichenstein. Yield from the Reichenstein mine. Extremelyfine. Estimate: 1,500 GBP))

Silesia, or the Duchy of Münsterberg-Oels respectively, isrepresented by a series of gold guldens and ducats from the yieldof the Reichenstein mine, today Kasperske Hory.

((No. 1567: STOLBERG. Christoph Frederick of Stolberg-Stolbergand Jost Christian of Stolberg-Rossla, 1704-1738. Thick doublereichsthaler 1707, Stolberg. Yield from the Stolberg mines.Extremely rare. Tiny solder mark, very fine. Estimate: 2,000GBP))

The current assumption concerning the descent of the lords ofStolberg is that they descended from the Dukes of Hohnstein. Thatwould explain why the Stolberg family was in possession of largesilver resources in the Harz mining areas. The auction offers acomprehensive series of Stolberg thalers, whose legend on thereverse reads in translation "God bless and preserve ourmines".

((No. 1583: TRIER. Lothar von Metternich, 1599-1623.Reichsthaler 1617, Coblence. Yield from the Vilmar mines.Extremely rare. Almost extremely fine. Estimate: 12,500 GBP))

Of course there are rare and stunning coins with mining themesor inscriptions from still other German territories, whichindicate that the pieces were minted from mining silver orgold.

((No. 1608. HRE. Charles VI, 1711-1740. 2 Ducats 1725, Prague.Yield from Eule (Jílové) mines. Extremely rare. Extremely fine.Estimate: 10,000 GBP))

Next up are round about 50 lots of coins from the Holy RomanEmpire and Austria with a small series of gold ducats from theHouse of Rosenberg from the yield of the Reichenstein mines.

The outstanding piece in this series is a double ducat ofCharles VI, minted in Prague in 1725 from the yield of the Eule(Jílové) mines. The abundance of the mine was legendary: So theold chroniclers fabled that, at the time of Libussa, themythological tribe mother of the Premyslids, golden nuggets hadsupposedly been found there, which were heavier than the duke andthe duchess.

((No. 1683: NORWAY. Frederick IV, 1699-1730. Pattern of 8Skilling 1711, Kongsberg. Very rare. Almost FDC. Estimate: 2,000GBP))

Further, the auction offers c. 120 lots of coins and medalsfrom Europe and overseas. The emphasis is on Denmark, France, andNorway.

The section multiple lots is remarkable. Up for sale arecomprehensive but cleverly chosen assortments on the whole. Forinstance, lot 1762 could be of interest for a collectorinterested in gold investments. It comprises 151 objectsaltogether and primarily contains gold medals from the 20 thcentury, but also a series of gold coins from the American GoldRush as well as a platinum coin. The highly attractive object,which absolutely needs viewing, is currently estimated at 50,000GBP.

Starting in October, the auction can be inspected online onwww.kuenker.de. By this time, a catalogue in German will also beavailable. You can order it at Künker, Nobbenburgerstr. 4a, 49076 Osnabrück; Tel: 0541 / 96 20 20; Fax: 0541 / 96 20 222; or bye- mail: service@kuenker.de.

Until 28 October 2016, the viewing takes place exclusively inthe halls of London Coin Galleries Ltd., 6 Shepherd Street,London W1J 7JE, UK. Please make an appointment at +44 207 4930498 or at info@lcgcoins.com.