Sale: Triton X, Lot: 1012. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $1400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Fugger. Maximilian II von Wöllenburg. Duke, 1598-1629. AR Taler (28.89 g, 12h). Dated 1623. MAX : FVGGERVS • L • B • IN • KIRHB : ET • W • D • IN • BAB, four-paneled coat of arms; 16 23 flanking / • FERDINANDVS • II • ROM : IMP : SEMPER • AVGVSTVS •, crowned double eagle holding sword and scepter, orb on chest. Kull 101d; Davenport 6673; KM 17. Choice EF, lightly toned.

The Fugger family began their rise to prominence as successful weavers in Augsburg. After several generations, the family developed into a powerful force in the world of banking and trading. Around 1473, the Fuggers began a long and profitable relationship with the Habsburg dynasty by serving as financiers for the royal family’s political and military ventures. In 1530, in recognition of their rise as a noble family, they received titles to the towns of Kirchberg and Weissenhorn. Later, the Fuggers were given the right to mint their own coinage.