Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Ducat - Johann Ehrenreich Tin Trial Strike
| Issuer | Counts of Sprinzenstein (Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1717 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Ducat (10) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Elaborately quartered and crowned coat of arms of the Counts of Sprinzenstein, centrally positioned in the field. Three crested helms surmount the shield: the dexter helm bears a sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), the central helm displays a rampant bull, and the sinister helm is surmounted by a crowned griffin. Baroque mantling and decorative scrollwork surround the achievement. The date 1717 appears at the base of the circular Latin legend, which references the hereditary office of Arch-Moneyer of both Austrian Archduchies. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ✤ ARCH · MONETAR · HÆREDIT · UTRIUSQ · ARCHIDUC · AUSTRIÆ ✤ 1717 |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Counts of Sprinzenstein held their Bohemian and Austrian lordships under Habsburg sufferance, and ducats issued in their name occupied a narrow legal window that the imperial court periodically opened and closed for minor nobility seeking to exercise minting rights. Tin trial strikes of this type were produced to test die alignment and relief before committing gold to the press — a standard step in any serious minting operation, but one that left behind objects with no monetary function whatsoever.
Johann Ehrenreich von Sprinzenstein died in 1727, leaving this issue close to the middle of his tenure. Surviving tin trials from minor Austrian state coinages of this period are considerably rarer than the gold strikes they preceded.