The Welfs’ Splendour in Historic Coins - The Regina Adams Collection at Künker’s
29. August 2024 12:41
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To mark and contribute to the auction of the Regina Adams Collection of Lösers minted by the historically important dynasty of the Welfs, in this brochure our scientific consultant Professor Johannes Nollé has discussed the starting poin of Löser minting, these coins’ significance and why they even influenced German language. Among the silver coins of the early modern period, the Lösers (multiple thalers) occupy a special position. Lösers are among the largest and heaviest silver coins ever minted. |
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They have been minted in denominations from just over 1 Reichstaler up to 25 Reichstaler. The larger of them, worth 10 Reichstalers, were equivalent in value to the golden Portugalösers in the weight of 10 Ducats, which were issued by Hamburg and other northern states. The Lösers are an important historical source for the noble dynasty of the Welfs, i.e. for the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. On these gift and presentation coins, the Welf dukes were portrayed as members of a glorious and successful dynasty. The coin legends of the Lösers allow us to trace the transition from the Latin scholarly language to the German vernacular. With Martin Luther's translation of the Bible, the use of the German language also gained religious significance as a Protestant achievement and stood in contrast to the Catholics' insistence on retaining Latin.
From an art-historical perspective, the Lösers are evidence of the influence of the Renaissance and Baroque on style, iconography and ideas. As the Lösers repeatedly reflect the successes of the Welfs in mining, they are also interesting testimonies to the history of technology. Another aspect of the history of technology is the minting of such heavy and large coins, which required particular effort and experience. 33 excellently preserved Lösers from the Regina Collection have inspired our ‘House of Minted History’ to take a closer look at some aspects of these interesting coins.
Click here to download the brochure [PDF]
The collection is presented in auction catalog 412, lot number 1539-1569.
