This 3 Kreuzer coin issued by the Langraviate of Hessen-Homburg is a good example of the type of German State coins I like the most. Hessen-Homburg was a tiny enclave located very close to Frankfurt and between the much larger Duchies of Nassau and Hessen. It consisted basically of the town of Bad-Homburg and the lands immediately surrounding it - a mere 275 km2 and 24000 inhabitants. The Landgraviate was quickly absorbed by Hessen and then Prussia following the Revolution of 1848 and the childless death of the last ruler. Its coinage in the 19th century is accordingly very scarce and highly sought by collectors. This 3 Kreuzer coin struck in 1840 is one of the rarest among the minor issues and is only the second or 3rd. example to be auctioned in more than 20 years.
Sweet coin. According to my 2004 Krause catalog there is a Mintage of 15,000. KM#14. With grade/values at F-$600 VF-$1,200 XF-$1,500 UNC-$2,000 What is the grade of your coin ? How close is it to these values ?
Thank you, @spirityoda. The NGC grade is VF30. In Germany I grade this a little lower. The only other example recorded in acsearch, a nice one in MS 60-something was sold for about $3200 all in. This example would bring roughly 1/3 of that if sold today (in Germany). Collector demand for Hessen-Homburg is very high. I had to take the first one that came up and I am very happy with it although lower grade.
I think you would like it! beautiful surrounding woods. Expensive place, though. Lots of affluent people live there. Beautiful parks and of course, the Schloss. The casino is supposed to be nice too.
There are many great castles and manors in Germany! Also, few things make me as happy as a a beautiful old city surrounded by forest. I'll be doing my best to get back to Germany in the future.
Besides 3-Kreuzer coins, Hesse Homburg struck also 6 and 1 Kreuzer minors dated 1840. These issues are quite scarce as well, specially the 6-Kreuzer. Examples of both coins from my collection: 6-Kreuzer: The 1-Kreuzer issue is the least scarce of the minor coins struck for Hessen-Homburg in the 19th. century:
