Lot 2182

Description

Bohemia, minority of Louis (Ludovic) I, guldengroschen 'Joachimsthaler'-of Count Stefan Schlick (1505-1526), (28.78 g), no date (c.1517-1526), obv. Saint Joachim standing dividing S-I with arms at lower left, obv.AR[MA] DOMI[NOR]:SLI[C]:STE[FANI]:ET:FRA[TR]:COM[ITU]: D:B[ ASATAUNI], rev. Bohemian lion, around LUDOVICUS:PRIM:D[EI]: GRACIA:R[EX]:BO[EMIE]:, (Dav. 8138). Very fine, slight tooling but very rare.

Ex Alan Jordan Collection.

Under Count Stephen in 1516 rich deposits of silver ore were discovered in the Bohemian basin. It rapidly became at that place a thriving mining town. In 1517 the site was renamed Jachymov - in analogy to the Erzgebirge mountain places named after saints Marienberg, Annaberg and Josef village. In 1520 Stephen and his brothers were awarded by the Czech parliament the right to mint silver coins, with one side the coat of arms and a representation of the Bohemian king (lion) and on the other side the holy Joachim with the coat of arms of the Counts of Schlick. It is noteworthy that the document still preserved, was written in Czech. It is refered to as the 'St. Joachim Thaler'. This guldengroschen enjoyed tremendous popularity and its name was quickly shortened to thaler, the name by which it was continued to be used over the next four centuries. The name still lives on today in the American dollar and the Russian ruble.