BELL TALERS

On 14 September 1643, the imperial troops withdrew from the fortress and the ducal seat of Brunswick. The imperial army lost this important location as a result of the separate peace concluded between Emperor Ferdinand III and the Welfs. The Brunswick people were the winners of the agreement: the withdrawal freed them from quartering, special taxes and all the annoying side effects that come with a hostile army being present in your city. They owed this freedom to their new ruler, Augustus the Younger. The latter celebrated his efforts in the service of the city with an extensive coin series. Numismatists usually refer to these pieces as glockentaler (bell talers) although – as is to be expected from a series of showpieces – the issue did not only comprise talers but pieces of many different denominations.

The files of the ducal administration paint an impressive picture of how actively the duke was involved in the design of the coins. He laid down legends, sketched designs and had patterns sent to him to check whether his instructions had been carried out to the letter. We know that Augustus did not only mention his new coins in his correspondence but also sent along designs and commented on them. The surviving correspondence with the Württemberg theologian Johann Valentin Andreae and his memoirs bear witness to this. For Andreae took pride in the fact that Augustus added a fourth type to the three planned types of bell talers upon his advice.

 

Augustus the Younger. Glockentaler (bell taler) 1643, Zellerfeld. Very fine. Estimate: 400 euros. From KÜNKER auction 361 (21 March 2022), No. 134

The Breakthrough – A Clapper on the Cornerstone

On 19 April 1643, the Duke and the Emperor concluded the Brunswick Treaty, which specified the details of the handover of Wolfenbüttel. We can find this date on the clapper, even though it is depicted in a coded manner. By using the Roman version XIII Kal. of May, Duke Augustus once again demonstrated his education.

His knowledge is also expressed by the biblical quote that adorns the front of the stone. The end of Revelation 13:10 reads as follows: here is the patience and the faith of the saints!

And from a letter from the duke to the theologian Johann Valentin Andreae we know what the Latin question SED? is supposed to mean. It must be read in the context of the biblical quote: When will Wolfenbüttel finally be handed over? Here we need patience and faith!

And what is the cornerstone supposed to mean? Nobody seems to have thought about that yet. One might think of the biblical saying according to which the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22), i.e. the outsider Augustus the Younger became the basis of Wolfenbüttel's freedom through his negotiations.

 

Augustus the Younger. Glockentaler (bell taler) 1643, Zellerfeld. Dated 13 September 1643. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 400 euros. From KÜNKER auction 361 (21 March 2022), No. 135

 

Augustus the Younger. Glockentaler (bell taler) 1643, Zellerfeld. Dated 14 September 1643. Very fine. Estimate: 250 euros. From KÜNKER auction 361 (21 March 2022), No. 136

The Withdrawal – A Bell with Clapper

TANDEM – finally! This is what you can read on the third type of the bell taler, which was minted on the occasion of the withdrawal of the imperial troops. We know what the letters on the bell mean from a letter written by Duke Augustus to Andreae. On 16 September 1643 he wrote: last Thursday, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the 14th day of the month, the wrongful occupiers finally – albeit reluctantly – departed. This sentence, written in early New High German, contains some Latin phrases that numismatists traditionally use to understand the meaning of the letters on the bell: Wolfenbüttelum Ab Injustis Detentoribus Invite Restituitur (= Wolfenbüttel is given back by the wrongful occupants against their will).

The duke himself explains what the E on the clapper refers to. It stands for EXECUTIO (= execution).

We know from a letter – this time one of the mint master – why this taler type was minted with two different dates. The departure of the imperial troops had been planned for 13 September 1643, then it turned out that they could only leave on 14 September. The mint master thus asked whether he should change the coin dies.

 

Augustus the Younger. Glockentaler (bell taler) 1643, Zellerfeld. Very fine (2 specimens). Estimate: 300 euros. From KÜNKER auction 361 (21 March 2022), No. 137

Free at Last – The Bell Heralds Peace

Patience is victorious at last – this is how the legend of the last taler type celebrates Wolfenbüttel's freedom. It depicts the ringing bell, on which an abbreviated Latin inscription proclaims that the sound of the bell spreads the message of peace. Might this be the coin type of which the theologian Andreae thinks that he inspired it? After all, on 20 September 1643, he sent the duke a poem of his own composition praising the duke for the liberation of Wolfenbüttel, translating the images used on the bell talers into words – which, by the way, other well-wishers also did in their letters. The illustrations of the bell talers seem to have already been widely known among educated contemporaries.

 

Augustus the Younger. Reichstaler 1643, Zellerfeld. Very fine to extremely fine. Very rare. Estimate: 2,000 euros. From KÜNKER auction 361 (21 March 2022), No. 133

To read the complete article, see:
The Liberator: Augustus the Younger and His Bell Talers (https://www.kuenker.de/en/information/presseinformationen/aktuelle-mitteilungen/418)

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