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Auction: 23006 - The Official COINEX Auction at Spink
Lot: 589

The Wilhelm Hüffer (1821-1895) Collection | Holy Roman Empire, temp. Rudolf II to Ferdinand III, in the name of Elizabeth von Thüringen [Saint Elizabeth of Hungary], Gold 'Judenmedaille', dated 1231, cast c. 1600-1650, Praha [Prague], ELISABETA • FILIA • ANDR • REG • UNGAR • OBIT • MARB • M•CC•XXXI, crowned and veiled bust left, within a tressure of seventeen arcs, rev. + DISPARSIT • DEDIT • PAUP • IUST : EIUS • MANET • IN • SECUL : SACULI, view of the Elizabethkirche in Marburg, within a tressure of seventeen arcs, 52mm, 19.03g (Vide: Winter 3.17/1; Bernhart 21; Klein B21; Prince Alexander 3; Hoffmeister 4 [all silver]), the fields lightly burnished with a few old marks and a crimped mark at 6 o'clock, otherwise extremely fine, rare in this metal

Provenance

The Wilhelm Hüffer (1821-1895) Collection of European Coins and Medals

with his envelope



One of several commemorative medals produced in Prague in the early 17th century by unknown medallists, or possibly a workshop. The city was famous as a centre for gold and silver work, and many of the small shops of the Mediaeval Goldsmiths Lane (later Golden Lane), just inside the walls of the castle, for long the residences of the castle guards and the Royal Goldsmiths, remain to this day. There is no record of the medals being used as presentation items in any formal context, and so presumably it was a purely commercial enterprise, and seemingly a success as many different designs are known. The idea that the medals formed a carefully planned programme to celebrate the house of Hapsburg is speculative, but clearly such medals would be popular. Subjects also included members of other European dynasties as well as several Saints.

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Sold for
£3,500

Starting price
£1800