Hesse, Trier, France, the Netherlands and Multiple Portraits: Some Remarks on the Upcoming Künker Sales
Künker
Auctions 391-394
Coins
25-29 September 2023
D-Osnabrück
Four catalogs with more than 4,000 lot numbers – that is what you can expect from Künker’s Fall Auction Sales, which will be held from 25 to 29 September 2023 at the Vienna House Remarque in Osnabrück. As always, experts will find an interesting mix of selected individual pieces and extensive special collections. Two collections were honored with a separate catalog: catalog 392 contains the second part of the Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos Collection with coins from Hesse and the Hesse region. Catalog 393 presents the first part of the Lodewijk S. Beuth Collection with coins from the Netherlands and the Dutch overseas territories minted after 1795.
Catalogs 391 and 394 include many outstanding individual pieces and more special collections. At this point, we limit this list to the comprehensive collection of rare European gold coins of excellent quality from the estate of the Luxembourg notary Robert Schuman, the Trier special collection assembled by Prof. Dr. Alois Memmesheimer and – last but not least – an outstanding collection of “Multiple Portraits” from a private collection in Westphalia.
No. 88
No. 88: France. Louis XIV, 1643-1715. Double louis d’or à la mèche longue 1648, N, Montpellier. Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 7,500 euros.
No. 264
No. 264: Great Britain. William III and Mary, 1688-1694. 5 guineas 1692, London. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros.
No. 458
No. 458: Russia. Nicholas I, 1825-1855. 12 rubles, platinum, 1841, St. Petersburg. Only 75 specimens minted. NGC MS61. Extremely fine to FDC (Prooflike). Estimate: 50,000 euros.
The Maître Robert Schuman Collection
Once again, a coin collection will be auctioned off for a good cause. The Luxembourg notary Robert Schuman (1953-2022) determined in his will, that the proceeds from his collection of rare gold coins of excellent quality will benefit the Luxembourg Red Cross. So, submitting bids for coins from the Schuman Collection is a twofold pleasure: you will not only acquire a magnificent treasure from an exquisite ensemble but also support the Red Cross to fulfill its many humanitarian missions.
Maître Robert Schuman collected for many decades. His main focus was on royal France. His collection of French issues dates from Philippe VI (1328-1350) to Napoleon III and also contains some coins from the following three republics. The last coin was issued in 1986 to honor his name twin.
But the collection also covers other areas. It contains some great rarities, for example the extremely fine and very rare 5-guinea piece from 1692 with the double portrait of the British rulers William III and Mary. By the way, the two pieces from this collection with the highest estimates are not made of gold but of platinum: the extremely rare 12-ruble pieces created for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in 1830 and 1841.
No. 961
No. 961: Westphalia. Hieronymus Napoleon, 1807-1813. Gold medal of 12 ducats, commemorating the visit of the royal couple to the Clausthal mines in 1811, by W. Körner. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 7,500 euros.
No. 4705
No. 4705: Sweden. Frederick I, 1720-1751. 2 riksdalers 1727, Stockholm. Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 5,000 euros.
No. 5777
No. 5777: German Empire / Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 1915 pattern of 5 marks. Extremely rare. Proof. Estimate: 5,000 euros.
“Multiple Portraits” from a Private Collection in Westphalia
When assembling a collection, there are a myriad of subjects to choose from. A Westphalian collector was fascinated by a particular topic: he focused on coins and medals that not only show the portrait of one but of several rulers. This very special collection is distributed among both catalogs 391 and 394 due to the many countries and territories where such coins and medals were created. Keep your eyes open! It is a rare pleasure to discover so many double portraits in one of our catalogs.
No. 2028
No. 2028: Hesse-Darmstadt. Ernest Louis, 1678-1739. 1715 reichstaler, Darmstadt. Extremely rare, probably the only specimen in private possession. About extremely fine. Estimate: 7,500 euros.
No. 2484
No. 2484: Friedberg. Johann Eberhard von Kronberg, 1577-1617. 1593 double reichstaler, Friedberg. Probably unique. Minor traces of mounting. Very fine. Estimate: 20,000 euros.
No. 2519
No. 2519: Isenburg. Carl Frederick, 1806-1815. 2 ducats 1811, Frankfurt am Main. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 7,500 euros.
Hesse and the Hessian Territory: The Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos Collection
On the afternoon of 26 September 2023, the second part of the extensive collection of Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos will be on offer. It contains coins from Hesse and the Hessian territory. The Loos Collection includes a total of about 1,400 pieces, the first part of which has already been sold rather successfully last year as auction catalog 374. At the time, a broad double reichstaler from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg fetched a hammer price of 65,000 euros. The reason for this was its great rarity. Only a single other specimen is known of. Since the second part of the collection also contains many extremely rare pieces, we are looking forward to many interested collectors.
Dr. Hans-Jürgen Loos was actually an economist. He was responsible for the accounting of the large business group Metallgesellschaft AG. To wind down in his free time, he studied Hessian history and numismatics. He was so enthusiastic about the topic that he returned to university as a retiree and started studying history. This passion is also evident from his collection. He wanted to document the historical development of the Hessian territories. Therefore, he paid particular attention to expressive pieces with unusual depictions. That is why his collection is so attractive.
Are you interested in Hesse? Then you should look forward to the second and last part of the Loos Collection with issues from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, the County of Erbach, the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Imperial Castle of Friedberg, the County of Isenburg as well as the Nassau and Stolberg territories.
No. 3111
No. 3111: Netherlands / Louis Napoleon, 1806-1810. 20 guldens 1808, Utrecht. Extremely rare. About FDC. Estimate: 40,000 euros.
No. 3465
No. 3465: Netherlands / William III 1849-1890. 2 ducats 1867, Utrecht. Only 8 specimens are known of. Proof. Estimate: 40,000 euros.
No. 3524
No. 3524: Netherlands / William III 1849-1890. 1 gulden (100 cents) 1867, Utrecht, minted for the world’s fair in Paris. Only a few specimens known! Not in the Dutch National Numismatic Collection (NNC). Proof. Estimate: 50,000 euros
No. 3696
No. 3696: Netherlands / Wilhelmina, 1890-1948. 2 ½ guldens 1898, Utrecht. Silver pattern with altered edge inscription. Unique? Proof, minimally worn. Estimate: 50,000 euros.)
Coins of the Netherlands and the Dutch Overseas Territories since 1795: The Lodewijk S. Beuth Collection, Part 1
Actually, Lodewijk Beuth only wanted to buy a little gold for “emergencies” when he set foot in Jacques Schulman’s coin shop in Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht for the first time in 1950. But Schulman convinced him to also purchase a few coins of historical interest. And this is how Lodewijk Beuth was bitten by the numismatic bug. He aimed to assemble the best collection of Dutch coins, both in terms of coin types and quality. And those who page through Künker’s auction catalog 393 cannot help but confirm that he achieved this. Beuth was successful in obtaining high-quality specimens from all years of many coin types and, moreover, also found the corresponding patterns. To this end, he participated in outstanding auction sales. To mention just one example, he purchased almost 30 rarities from the collection of the Egyptian King Farouk, auctioned off in 1954! The collector, who passed away in 1982, was lucky enough to collect in an era when many collections that are famous to this day entered the market. His son Hein filled some gaps, which is why it is not a stretch to say that Künker, in collaboration with the Laurens Schulman coin shop, presents in catalog 393 the most extensive and most beautiful collection of Dutch coins that has entered the market since 1988.
Part 1 of the Beuth Collection contains issues minted after the founding of the Batavian Republic in 1795. Particularly remarkable about this part of the collection are the many extremely rare patterns, which can hardly ever be found in the market. They are not only from the Farouk Collection but from the estate of J.C.P.E. Menso, whose impressive collection was sold by Jacques Schulman in 1958. This means that many coins that are depicted in this catalog have not been offered for decades.
If you collect Dutch coins, save the date on 27 and 28 September 2023. This auction will be an outstanding event for Dutch numismatics!
No. 5265
No. 5265: Trier. Richard von Greiffenklau-Vollrads, 1511-1531. 1523 gold medal with the weight of three gold guldens. Extremely rare (just one gold specimen under “Vienna” in the Habich catalog, Baron L. von Rothschild Coll.). Traces of mounting. Fields chased. Very fine. Estimate: 5,000 euros.
No. 5270
No. 5270: Trier. Lothar von Metternich, 1599-1623. 1607 reichstaler, Trier. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000 euros
No. 5307
No. 5307: Trier. Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, 1768-1794. 1773 conventionstaler, Koblenz. First strike. About FDC. Estimate: 5,000 euros.
Coins and Medals from Trier: The Prof. Alois Matthias Memmesheimer Collection
From the Netherlands we travel to Trier, the old archbishopric on the Moselle River. Prof. Alois Matthias Memmesheimer has also assembled a collection of almost 100 lots on the subject of Trier. After Künker auctioned off the Memmesheimer Collection of Mainz issues in March 2023, now it is Trier’s turn in Künker’s auction 394. The time frame ranges from the 11th to the late 18th centuries. In addition, there are a few ancient coins.
No. 959
No. 959: German states / Schwarzenberg. Johann Nepomuk, 1782-1789. 10 ducats 1783, Vienna. Extremely rare. NGC MS65*. Minor adjustment marks on the obverse. About FDC. Estimate: 175,000 euros.
No. 4534
No. 4534: France / Carolingians. Charlemagne, 768-814. Denarius, 813/4 or a little later, Aachen. Of the highest rarity and great historical and numismatic importance. Very fine. Estimate: 40,000 euros.
No. 4891
No. 4891. German States / Brandenburg-Prussia. Joachim I, 1499-1535. 1521 taler, Frankfurt / Oder. Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 80,000 euros.
No. 5677
No. 5677: German Empire. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ernest II, 1844-1893. 20 marks 1872. Very rare. Above-average quality. About extremely fine. Estimate: 60,000 euros.
Large Series and Individual Pieces
As if this were not enough, experts will discover many spectacular individual pieces and numerous extensive series in auctions 391 and 394. Let us start with a small run of Danish coins, distributed among both catalogs 391 and 394. Lovers of Italian gold coins will also be spoilt for choice: which one of the many rare 100-lire pieces should they add to their collection? The same problem arises for all those interested in US gold coins. About 60 lots are on offer in this section.
Of course, auction 391 will also offer Habsburg tenfold-ducats of the kind that the emperors had produced for diplomatic purposes. Another rarity, however, is only seldomly seen on the market: the portrait denarius of Charlemagne. Only about 40 specimens are known of this historically and numismatically important coin.
What other lots should we mention? There is, for example, the really rare 1707 ruble minted on behalf of Peter the Great at the Moscow Kadashevsky Mint. It is from the Hutten-Czapski Collection, as the conspicuous collector punch proves. Or are you interested in the first Brandenburg taler? Joachim I had it minted in 1521 in Frankfurt an der Oder. Künker offers a very fine specimen of the piece.
Of course, auction catalog 394 also includes numerous coins of the German Empire, for example the rarest type among all imperial gold coins: the 20-mark piece from 1872 with the portrait of Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
By the way, Künker’s auction year does not end with this September sale! From 13 until 15 November 2023, ancient coins as well as orders and decorations from across the world will be on offer in Osnabrück.
To order a catalog contact Künker, Nobbenburger Straße 4a, 49076 Osnabrück; phone: +49 541 / 962020; fax: +49 541 / 9620222.
