The Taler Named

Triton XIV, Lot: 1226. Estimate $750. Sold for $1500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AUSTRIA, Schlick. Stephan, Burian, Heinrich, Hieronymous, and Lorenz. Counts, 1516-1526. AR Taler (41mm, 29.02 g, 2h). In the name of Ludwig II, King of Hungary and Bohemia. Joachimsthal mint. Undated (circa 1517). • AR : DOMI : SLI : STE : ET : FRA : CO : D : b •, St. Joachim standing slightly left, holding sack and shovel; S I across field; Schlick coat of arms to left / LVDOVICVS : PRIM : D : GRACIA : R : bO :, crowned lion rampant left. Donebauer 3747; Davenport 8138. VF, lightly toned.

From the HLT Collection. Ex Heritage 441 (28 September 2007), lot 50325.

This early and historically important taler was struck in Bohemia by the noble Schlick family, which received the rank of imperial counts in 1437 from Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. The source of the Schlicks’ wealth was silver mines found in their Bohemian estates, which allowed them to produce the earliest taler coins. In fact, the name of the denomination “taler” is taken from the valley, Joachimstal, where the silver was mined.

Although the counts of Schlick enjoyed wealth in the early 16th century, their fortune was not to remain. The family had an unstable relationship with the Austrian Habsburgs, frequently supporting their Bohemian brethren in uprisings against the emperor. In 1620, at the outset of the Thirty Years War, many members of the Schlick family were stripped of their titles and estates after supporting Frederick the Winter King in his fight against Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.