BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBÜTTEL: Augustus II, 1635-1666, AR ½ glockenthaler, Zellerfeld, KM-414, Welter-830, 'Glocken' or Bell type, mintmaster Henning Schluter, lightly cleaned on reverse, toned, VF. The glockenthaler (bell thaler) appears to reflect the changing sentiment of the leadership of the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). By the time of August the Younger (Auguste der Jüngere), however, German territories, including Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, had been the site of much of the devastating fighting during the war. The departure in 1634 of the imperial armies from his territories was a cause of celebration. To commemorate this event, a series of seven thaler types were struck. Collectively known as glockenthalers, since a bell features prominently into the design of six of the types (the fourth type shows a stone block and a bell clapper), all of these coins have the common reverse legend ALLES MIT BEDACHT (everything with deliberation), which suggests that the consequences of the impulsive policy of Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and almost twenty years of devastation brought sober reflection with the onset of peace.

Estimate: USD 150 - 200