Austria: County of Tyrol Rudolph II 1604 Silver Double Taler

AUSTRIA. COUNTY OF TYROL . Rudolph II, 1576-1612.
Silver Double Taler, 1604. Hall.
Obv: RVDOLPHVS II D G ROM IM SEM AV GER HVN BO REX, ornamented armour with ruffled collar bust right, date below. Rev: NECNON ARCHIDUCE S A DVC BVR CO TIROL, crowned ornate oval shield with composite coat of arms, surrounded by the chain of the order of the Golden fleece.

Dated 1604, this double taler belongs to the reign of Rudolf II, whose court at Prague became a centre of artistic collecting and scientific enquiry. Rudolf supported Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler; after Brahe’s death in 1601, Kepler succeeded him as Imperial Mathematician. His patronage brought astronomers, instrument makers and artists together with practitioners of astrology and alchemy.

Hall’s coinage also provides a tangible record of contemporary technology. The Kunsthistorisches Museum preserves a minting roller dated 1604 for Rudolf’s Tyrolean issues, evidence of the mechanised production used at the mint during this period. It offers a particularly close historical connection to this substantial silver coin of the same year.

Once possibly cleaned, now retoned, better than very fine, rare.

Rare.

Reference: KM-57.1; MT-363.
Weight: 57.7g.
Diameter: 45mm.
Composition: Silver.

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