GERMANY. Rostock. Stadt. Taler 1609 (Silver, 44 mm, 28.41 g, 3 h). ✱•MONETA•NOUA•ROSTOCHIENSIS•609• Griffin rampant left. Rev. RVDOL•II•D:G•RO•IM•SEM•AVGVSTV•P•F•D Crowned double eagle, orb with value 32 on its chest. Davenport 5778. Kunzel 63 A/a. Very rare and beautifully toned. Struck on an irregular flan with some doubling and minor areas of weakness, otherwise, very fine.



This beautiful coin bears witness to a brief but prosperous chapter in the history of the Hanseatic city of Rostock, a time of extraordinary wealth. In 1584, the long-standing conflicts with the Dukes of Mecklenburg were resolved, allowing the city’s merchants to thrive and enabling an autonomous Rostock to reach a level of prosperity that even surpassed its medieval heyday. Yet this golden age was short-lived, brought to an end by the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648).