Been mentally preparing for the purchase of this important coin for any crown collector, and even more so for me, as a Habsburg Taler focused collector. I had an opportunity to acquire an original, problem free, 1486 Guldiner at the Stacks auction. These generally come mounted, chased, cleaned etc yet this one had a decent look for the type - background here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guldengroschen Coin background - "A combination of small gold coins and larger silver served Europe reasonably well into the fifteenth century, but the ever-growing trade within the Continent and abroad mandated increased supplies of coin. In 1486 Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol struck the first dollar-sized silver coin. Its formal name was guldengroschen, but this was soon shortened to gulden or guldiner. It was meant to be equivalent with the gulden, one of the important European gold coins. I will get this properly imaged, yet this is what it looks like. Sigismund was a pioneer in the field of large silver coins and proved to be well ahead of his time. It was not until about 1520 that the counts of Schlick in Bohemia (later part of Czechoslovakia) took the guldiner concept to its logical conclusion and began the striking of large silver coins on a regular basis. Most of the silver for the Schlick coinage came from rich mines in the valley of St. Joachim Joachimsthal). These coins became known as Joachimsthalers, which was soon shortened to talers. By the middle of the sixteenth century large silver coins, based on the taler, were being struck all over the continent. Many of the countries simply used a derivative name to show the value of their coinage. Sweden, for example, struck dalers while Dutch provinces coined Leeuwendaalders (lion dollars) from 1575 to about 1713. Petty German states in particular coined talers, and even multiple talers became almost common. These coins were frequently used as commemoratives and royal propaganda for the ruling house. "
Congratulation , that's awesome coin to own. Having this and Teutonic thaler are goals i have set when i start collecting crowns. BTW how does it feel not been able to touch the coin and feel with slabs ? I hate it.
Given how rare these coins are, and how historically significant they appear to be, I'm actually really surprised that the price isn't much higher. Crowns seem to be incredibly popular, so why aren't these valued higher? Where does yours rank in the condition census? A quick search shows a couple in higher grades, but not much.
Thank you. I have been looking for one without 1) Mounting or field chasing 2) Harsh Cleaning. They don't show up as much in such condition and when they do, they sell for $40K or so, so not an insignificant amount. From a Heritage description "The type is relatively rare with perhaps no more than 160 known specimens most of which have been mounted or tooled." http://coins.ha.com/itm/austria/austria-archduke-sigismund-of-tyrol-guldiner-1486-/a/3004-20179.s
I don't mind not holding a coin, especially when dealing with pricier ones. This is a historical, 5 figure price tag, I would hate for it to get a ding or scratch. When/if selling, its becomes more liquid as well.
