GREECE: AE medal, 1716, Forst-801; Voltolina-1387; Slg. Erlanger-2708, 48mm, bronze medal by Philipp Heinrich Müller, Commemorating the Defence of Corfu under Count Schulenburg, MATT. IOH. S. R. I. COM. DE SCHULENBURG SER. REIP. VEN. MARECH. GEN. CORCYRAE. PROPUGNATOR (Matthius John, Count Schulenburg of the Holy Roman Empire, Field-Marshal-General of the illustrious Republic of Venice, defender of Corfu) around bust of the general in long wig and drapery, right // AVSPICIIS VENETVM VIRTVS GERMANA TVETVR (With the help of Venice true German valour protects Corfu, 22 August 1716), plan of Corfu showing the line of fire of the batteries, CORCYRAM D. XXII. AVG. A. MDCCXVI in exergue, much original red mint luster and 19th century collector's tag, AU, RR. Philipp Heinrich Müller (1654-1719) was one of the most famous medalists at the end of the seventeenth century and early part of the eighteenth. He was born in Augsburg where, under the protection and patronage of the Augsburg town councillor, Leonhard Weiss, he began the art of medal engraving. Indeed, one of Müller’s earliest medallic productions was a portrait of Leonhard Weiss, made in 1677. In addition to the mints at Augsburg, Müller worked at the Mints at Nuremberg and Salzburg, among others. As such his medals became known and admired all over Europe, and they belong to the best of the time. He executed portraits of most of the rulers and princes of his period, and commemorative medals depicting important events in contemporary German history as well as those connected with other countries, including Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Russia, and the Republic of Venice. Müller also made a large number of dies for striking draftsmen in wood, which even surpass the silver medals. The Siege of Corfu, which lasted from 19 July to 20 August 1716, was a key encounter in the Ottoman-Venetian War (1714-1718). This was the last in a series of wars between the two Mediterranean powers that stretched back to the fifteenth century. The failure to take Corfu by the Ottoman forces was hailed as a great victory across Christian Europe.

Estimate: USD 400-500