Butterfly thaler

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Butterfly thaler from the time of Countess Cosel no year (around 1709)

The so-called butterfly thaler , spelling also butterfly thaler and its parts were also referred to as butterfly groschen. They were registered by Walther Haupt as commemorative coins of the Saxon Elector and Polish King August the Strong (1694–1733). The coin features a butterfly on the reverse and a crowned monogram on the obverse. They come from the time of Friedrich August's liaison with Countess Cosel . The very rare coins with the indications of value in groschen , which is unusual in the electorate , were produced without the year, mint master's mark or artist's signature.

Coin-historical connections

In 1799 M. Michael Conradi mentioned in his book Life and Government History of Friedrich Augusts the First, ..., after the years after medals and coins , that Countess von Cosel appeared at a ball in the mask of a bat, and thus brings the edition of butterfly coins in connection. However, a butterfly is undoubtedly seen on the coins . Since this butterfly has three pairs of wings instead of two, the die cutter or client of these coins could have indicated that the reverse of the coin does not show a real butterfly. The actual meaning of the peculiar coinage recorded by Walter Haupt under “Commemorative coins of Friedrich August I” is still unknown.

Portrait Anna Constantia Countess of Cosel (first half of the 18th century)

Anna Constantia (Konstanze) Countess von Cosel (Cossell), born von Brockdorff , divorced from Hoym , was raised by the Emperor to Countess von Cosel as mistress of August II of Poland in 1706 after her divorce in the same year . She used the favor of Friedrich August to accumulate a large fortune. By attempting to interfere with the government, she made enemies of the ministers, especially Jacob Heinrich von Flemming . Their domination and jealousy as well as their attempts at political interference led to their overthrow. The king had her brought to Stolpen as state prisoners in 1716 . She remained in custody at Stolpen Castle in comfortably furnished rooms until her death in 1765.

"She was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and witty women of her time, highly educated and especially well versed in French literature, which gave her almost the only pleasure in her captivity."

In the novel Countess Cosel by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski about her life, at the end of the book there is a reference to thalers that the countess obtained from the king. Apparently these are coins with her coat of arms and that of the king, which were found in the upholstery of her armchair after her death. However, there are neither coins with the coat of arms of August and his mistress, nor medals in honor of Countess Cosel. The so-called butterfly thalers are the only thalers that can be related to Friedrich August's lover. They are referred to in older and more recent literature as Friedrich August's butterfly thalers or butterfly coins from the time of Countess Cosel, because they bear his monogram and the reverse shows a large butterfly that takes up the entire side of the coin. There is also agreement with the minting time of the strange coins and Friedrich August's liaison with Countess Cosel. On the other hand, the mints produced in a very small edition are not comparable with other commemorative coins of the king, all of which refer to a known occasion, neither in terms of the coin image nor in the value indication.

Designation as tokens until around the middle of the 19th century

Michael Lilienthal (* 1668, † 1750) was the first to name the butterfly thalers minted around 1709.

The coins without coats of arms, inscription, year of issue and mint master's mark were considered to be tokens of the Dresden court until about the first half of the 19th century.

Michael Lilienthal's description of the taler coins, which took place relatively shortly after they were minted in 1747, explains what they "actually" were used for:

“A strange thaler from the king […] [with a] papillon or butterfly, with six outspread wings. [...] They are supposed to have been used for play marquies on a certain occasion . "

In his Supplement to History (1821) Donndorff also referred to "butterfly groschen, gulden and thalers" as "tokens that the king [...] had struck for play at the Dresden court " and named "Schellenberg Handler II. 387" as evidence of this. The same explains, for example, H. Pierer in his Universal Lexicon from 1835 and OLB Wolff in New elegant Conversations Lexicon from 1837. However, nothing was mentioned about the meaning of the butterfly on the embossing.

Embossing period

According to Christian Jacob Götz (1811) it is

“Coins of Friedrich August the first since the renunciation of the Krone Pohlen until the renewed acceptance of the same. Since the articles of the Altranstadt peace treaty only granted King August II the title King without any indication: von Pohlen, coins with only AR crowned and warped appeared in 1708 and 1709 [...]. "

The butterfly dime with "AR warped and covered with a crown" and on the back "a butterfly" (above) of the embossments of MONETA were by Götz the period beaten Saxonica coins (bottom picture) consisting of mint Dresden and Leipzig derived . This minting period is also given in Johann Christian Hasche's Diplomatic History of Dresden ... from 1819 , for example .

In 1974, Tadeusz Kalkowski wrote in his book about the thousand-year history of Poland that the undated butterfly thalers date from 1708, from a time when the Cosel was already “at the helm”. Currently, 1709 is usually given as the year of issue. Both Saxon state coins, the Dresden and Leipzig mints, can also be used as mints for the butterfly coins.

Cosel guilders, Cosel ducats

Also known are the so-called Coselgulden from the Dresden mint . Like the pieces of the butterfly thaler , these are thaler coins minted according to the Leipziger Münzfuß . However, in all likelihood you have nothing to do with the Countess. The point associated with the Cosel between the two overlapping coats of arms on the reverse was probably first interpreted as the central point in 1734 by Johann Christian Kundmann .

The so-called Cosel dukats are also associated with the imperial countess. Compared to the butterfly coins, however, these coins are clearly so obscene that August the Strong or Countess Cosel could not have arranged for them to be issued.

The Coseldukats, minted in the ducat weight and used as tokens, were fit for circulation, as were the butterfly coins.

Description of the butterfly coins

A crowned monogram with the letters AR (Augustus Rex) linked together can be seen on the obverse of the butterfly coins. The abbreviation customary for correspondence was used for the denomination of the taler coins in groschen in the section. On the back there is a butterfly with three outstretched wings and two antennae each. The butterfly is usually referred to as the Red Apollo in coin descriptions , although it does not exist that way.

The butterfly thaler has a high edge bar on both sides (this is the narrow raised hoop around the edge), as in Friedrich August's medals . These edge bars do not otherwise appear on his coins and commemorative coins.

The series of embossing consists of the nominal values :

(Conversion of the nominal value of the imperial mint to the nominal value of the Leipzig mint according to Paul Arnold.)

  • 32 Groschen = 1 Speciesreichstaler = 1 ⅓ Kuranttaler (not minted) = 2 Gulden
  • 16 groschen = ½ Speciesreichstaler = ⅔ Kuranttaler = 1 gulden (A clear distinction must be made between this minted gulden and the fictitious billing term "gulden", the Meissen gulden )
  • 8 Groschen = ¼ Speciesreichstaler = ⅓ Kuranttaler = ½ Gulden
  • 4 Groschen = ⅛ Speciesreichstaler = ⅙ Kuranttaler = ¼ Gulden
  • Groschen (= 1 ⁄ 24 Kuranttaler)

Coin issuance

The butterfly thaler corresponds to a Speciesreichstaler minted according to the Reichsmünzfuß (= 32 groschen, weight according to Reichsmünzfuß = 29.23 g, fineness 14  Lot 4  Grän = 888.89 / 1000). The characteristics of the pieces correspond to the Leipziger Münzfuß, the groschen ( 1 ⁄ 24 Taler) to the Torgauer Münzfuß. (The Kuranttaler valued at 24 groschen was a bill coin that, with a few exceptions, was not minted.)

Re-coinage

Copies of the butterfly thaler are also known. They are referred to as a "heavy later cancellation of original stamps". The weight of this coin is about 35.37 g and is a distinguishing feature to the lighter Speciesreichstalern. In the description of the Otto Merseburger Collection from 1894 under "Coins from the time of Countess Cosel", replicas were already known, as the butterfly coins listed there can be found in the list of coins with the comment "Original".

A reprint with the original stamps of the butterfly thaler in gold, a “gold strike of 11 ducats ”, was offered as “probably unique ” in the Künker auction on March 16, 2016 . In the detailed description it is mentioned that according to Paul Arnold, long-time director of the Münzkabinett in Dresden , the embossing tools are still preserved in the stamp archive of the Münzkabinett . Official reprints were made with these stamps in the 18th and 19th centuries.

annotation

Reference is also made to the original mint in this description (Künker auction). According to the state of research, it is stated that contemporary archival documents on the butterfly coins have not yet been identified. But there is also another variant for the interpretation of the coin image at your own discretion. Accordingly, the “back is provided with an emblem that encapsulates a political message. [...] The three pairs of wings could represent a synonym for the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as well as for Elector Saxony. "

However, it is not easy to make sense of the covert political message on these coins, even if the Polish throne was lost for a time. The stamps were not recorded in the contemporary works, so they were unknown to date. The fit butterfly coins show no typical signs of use, both as denominations and as gaming tokens.

Further coins of August the Strong with monogram (1708–1710)

King August II. , Speciesreichstaler to 32 groschen from 1708 with royal title, but without reference to Poland. Friedrich August had this thaler minted after he had to give up the Polish throne. ( Dresden Mint )

Friedrich August had the thaler, which was also embossed with a large crowned monogram of Augustus the Strong, minted at the time when he had to renounce the Polish throne. That was after the Peace of Altranstädt until the regaining of the Polish throne in 1709. However, few coins were still minted in 1710. He was still allowed to wear the title of king (REX), but without reference to Poland. This taler and its parts, as well as the versions in gold, were minted in the Dresden mint under the mint master Johann Lorenz Holland (1698–1716) and in the Leipzig mint under the mint master Ernst Peter Hecht (1693–1714). The inscription reads:

  • AUGUSTUS DG REX ET ELECTOR. // MONETA SAXONICA.
    • Translation: August, by the grace of God King and Elector. // Saxon coin.

Regarding the minting in 1710, Götz's “Groschen Cabinett” (1811) stated that “it can hardly be explained other than that the stamps were cut early in 1709, which one then did not want to leave unused, although the consequences of the battle at Pultawa, which were fortunate for Saxony, have the stamps [with] AR and Rex but without a pole. had made useless ”.

Paul Arnold, in agreement with Christian Jacob Götz et al. (See “Section Minting Period”), dates the minting time of the butterfly coins, which were also minted without reference to Poland, to the minting time of these likewise rare coins with the likeness of Friedrich August and his monogram on the opposite side .

However, this is also a confirmation of the time of Friedrich August's liaison with Countess Cosel. The secret of the butterfly thaler remains unsolved.

See also

  • Saxon coin history
  • Reichsgulden zu 21 Groschen (1584) : For the indication of the value of the pronounced billing guilder, the groschen symbol was also used as for correspondence. This could be an indication that both coins were not intended for payment transactions.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde , German. Verlag der Wissenschaft, Berlin 1974, p. 245
  2. ↑ Helmut Caspar: "Secret" of the butterfly thaler so far not revealed , in Numismatic Contributions , Issue I 1979, p. 33, reference 4
  3. ↑ Cosel (Cossell) Anna Konstanze, Countess of ... in Meyers Encyclopedia , 4th Edition 1885-1890
  4. ↑ Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon , Leipzig 1911, in it: Cosel, also Cossell, Anna Konstanze, Countess of ...
  5. ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition, 1885–1890
  6. ↑ Helmut Caspar: "Secret" of the butterfly thaler so far not revealed , in Numismatic Contributions, Issue I 1979, p. 31
  7. ↑ Julius Erbstein , Albert Erbstein : Discussions in the field of the Saxon coin and medal history with the listing of the Hofrath Engelhardt'schen collection , Dresden 1888, p. 304
  8. ↑ Otto F. Müller: Otto Merseburger Collection comprising coins and medals from Saxony, sales catalog , Leipzig 1894, p. 70
  9. ↑ Heinz Fengler; Gerd Gierow; Willy Unger: transpress Lexikon Numismatics , Berlin 1976 (under butterfly coin)
  10. ↑ Helmut Kahnt: The large coin dictionary from A to Z , Regenstauf 2005
  11. ↑ Eduard Maria Oettinger: fools Almanac for 1843 , Leipzig 1843
  12. ↑ Michael Lilienthal: Complete Thaler Cabinet, that is: Historical-Critical Description [...], Königsberg and Leipzig 1747, p. 200, No. 563a: "A strange Thaler [...]"
  13. ^ IA Donndorff: "Supplements to the history of inventions ...", second volume, Quedlinburg and Leipzig 1821, p. 390
  14. ^ Christian Jacob Götz (Ed.): Beybeitrags zum Groschen-Cabinet , Volume II, Dresden 1811, p. 680
  15. ^ Johann Christian Hasche: Diplomatic history of Dresden ..., fourth part , Dresden 1819, p. 26
  16. ↑ Helmut Caspar: "Secret" of the butterfly thaler so far unreleased , in Numismatic Contributions , Issue I 1979, p. 32, reference 5
  17. ^ Acsearch: Friedrich August I., so-called Coselgulden 1707 ILH, Dresden
  18. ↑ Helmut Caspar: "Secret" of the butterfly thaler so far unreleased , in Numismatic Contributions , Issue I 1979, p. 32, reference 3
  19. ↑ acsearch: Coseldukat, weight 3.44 g, a game token from the time of Countess Cosel. In the coin image two pigeons beaking, rooster kicks hen on the opposite side.
  20. ↑ Helmut Caspar: "Secret" of the butterfly thaler so far not revealed , in Numismatic Contributions , Issue I 1979, p. 32
  21. ↑ The series of butterfly coins. In Künker auction 189 (2011), p. 135. (Note: The 32 Groschen piece is not a Kuranttaler as stated here, but a Speciesreichstaler, the 16 Groschen piece is not ½ Kuranttaler, but ⅔ Kuranttaler. (1 Kuranttaler had a Value of 24 groschen, not 32 groschen.))
  22. ↑ Paul Arnold: The Saxon Thaler Currency from 1500 to 1763. Swiss Numismatic Rundschau, Volume 59, 1980, p. 86
  23. ^ Künker auction 127, 2007
  24. ^ Christian Jacob Götz (ed.): Beybeitrags zum Groschen-Cabinet , Volume II, Dresden 1811, p. 683