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The Whore of Babylon

Triton XXI, Lot: 1056. Estimate $20000.

GERMANY, Schaumburg-Pinneberg (Grafschaft). Ernst. 1601-1622. AR Halbtaler (44mm, 14.25 g, 12h). Altona mint; münzmeister Christoph Feistell. Struck 1618-1620. HATS • GODT • VO • RSEHN • SO • WI RTS • GESCHEN • (God hath foreseen, so it will come about), armored figure of Ernst right on horseback, holding scepter; flowers on ground below / DIE ROTE HVR DE • DRACH : REIT • DE KELC : DS GIF : U : GREWELS • TREIT • (The whore [of Babylon] rides the red dragon, carrying the chalice of poison and cruelty), the Whore of Babylon seated right, holding raised chalice, on seven headed beast with one head severed, standing on city gate; to left, grasshopper right; to right, lamb leaping left. Lange 838; Weinmeister 162; KM 105. Good VF, toned.


Ex Friedrich Popken Collection (Künker 244, 6 February 2014), lot 316; UBS 79 (10 September 2008), lot 3072.

The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive of European conflicts and involved most of the states of continental Europe. A religious war, it divided the continent between Roman Catholic and Protestant, with both sides viewing the conflict in specifically religious terms. Such views were widely represented on the coinage of the time, thereby conveying the sense of apocalypse felt by the inhabitants. These images became a convenient shorthand for villifying the opposition and, in this case, the Whore of Babylon was meant to represent the Papacy. The image on this halbtaler derives from Revelation 17:3-4 –

“and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication”

The county Schaumberg-Pinneberg had originally been Roman Catholic until the time of Otto IV (circa 1531-1576), who adopted Lutheran teachings, but did not openly confront the Church, since his brothers each were Archbishop-Electors of Cologne. By the time of Ernst, however, Schaumberg-Pinneberg was Lutheran. Because of this, the county did experience some war damage during the Thirty Years’ War. Following Ernst’s death in 1622, he was succeded by a Roman Catholic relative, Jobst Herman, who ruled without attempting to change the religion of the territories under his rule. His successor, Otto V, (1635-1640) was a Calvinist, though he himself did not try to steer his territories away from Lutheranism, which its inhabitants continue to follow to today.

Current Status

Triton XXI, Lot: 1056.
Closing Date And Time: Jan 08, 2018 at 5:00:00 PM ET.
Current Date And Time: Mar 28, 2024 at 9:30:15 PM ET.
Currently: No Bids. Bidders (0).