Historic Unification by Marriage

Sale: Triton X, Lot: 1018. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $1500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Hamburg. Ernst I ‘the Pious’. Duke, 1636-1675. AR Double Show Taler (57.07 g, 1h). Commemorating the marriage of Ernst, Duke of Sachsen-Coburg to Elisabeth Sophie, Duchess of Sachsen-Altenburg. Undated issue (circa 1636). GODT • DE : EHSTANDT • GESTIFT : HÆT • DARU TH • IESUS • GESENEN • DÆT +, Christ standing between the groom (Ernst) and bride (Elisabeth Sophie), his right hand raised / Z CANAI GALILEA EI HOCHZEIT : WAR • IESUS • AUS WASSER • MAC : WEIN • DAR, Christ and Mary standing with a bridal couple around a table; six wine jugs and a dog in the foreground. Cf. Gaedechens 144. Good VF, toned.

This show taler was struck to commemorate the marriage of Ernst, Duke of Sachsen-Coburg to Elisabeth Sophie, Duchess of Sachsen-Altenburg in 1636. The marriage was a historic event in German history, as it unified the two duchies under one ruler. Ernst was a deeply religious man, and he ensured that his subjects received strict Lutheran instruction. Consistent with his emphasis on religion, the reverse of this coin shows a biblical scene depicting the miracle of Christ turning water into wine at a marriage celebration in Cana, Galilee (John 2:1-11). We can see Jesus speaking to Mary – presumably just before he performs the miracle – as the six wine jugs wait below.