Unique Hessen-Kassel 1634 Gold Offstrike

Sale: CNG 81, Lot: 1270. Estimate $20000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009.  Sold For $38000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Hessen-Kassel. Wilhelm V. 1627-1637. AV Offstrike (Abschlag) from 1634 Doppeltaler (35.29 g, 12h). Kassel mint; Terentius Schmidt, mintmaster. Dated 1634. WILHELM9. D: G: LANDGRAVI9. HASSIÆ. COM: C: D: Z: E: N: MDCXXXIIII (clover), Hessian coat of arms within oval cartouche surmounted by three helmets, monogram TS between horns / IEHOVA • VOLENTE • HUMILIS • LEVABOR • (clover) •, willow tree being struck by lightning from clouds above, wind and rain blowing from left, radiant hwhy to right; in background, 6 houses. Cf. Schütz 834 (same dies, but in silver); Friedberg -. Near EF, a few edge marks, two small scratches in obverse fields. Unpublished; an apparently unique gold offstrike.

This gold offstrike, of roughly 10 ducat weight, was struck from the dies of the 1634 Hessen-Kassel broad double taler -- an extremely rare coin in its own right. The only gold piece recorded for this year in the standard references is a much smaller goldgulden. We can find no other record of this unpublished offstrike, which shares the dies of the silver double taler illustrated in Schütz.

The scene of the willow tree being blown by a storm and struck by lightning is very common on the coinage of Hessen-Kassel struck during the period of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). The depiction of the storm is an allegorical image intended to highlight the effect of war on Hessen-Kassel. During the Thirty Years’ War, countless militias swept through the territory, ravaging the countryside and killing a large proportion of the population. In the upper right of the scene is a shining sun representing Jehovah, perhaps a reminder of God’s presence and a hope that sunny days are ahead. Langrave Wilhelm V, who struck this coin, was a Calvinist and supporter of Sweden during the war. For part of his reign, his territory was occupied by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor. By the time of his death in 1637, Hessen-Kassel was just a shadow of its former self.