AUSTRIA, Holy Roman Empire. Sigismund. Archduke, 1446-1490. AR Guldiner – Taler (41mm, 31.42 g, 8h). Hall mint. Dated 1486. VF.

Keystone 16 – The David C. Bianchi II Collection
Lot: 522.
Closing Date: May 20 2026 10:00 ET

Medieval & Early Modern World – Other, Silver

Estimate: $ 5 000

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AUSTRIA, Holy Roman Empire. Sigismund. Archduke, 1446-1490. AR Guldiner – Taler (41mm, 31.42 g, 8h). Hall mint. Dated 1486. Crowned, draped, and armored figure standing facing, holding globe-tipped scepter on shoulder and hilt of sword; to left, coat-of-arms held by lion; to right, crested and crowned helmet / Knight in German Gothic armor, holding banner, on caparisoned horse galloping right; 1486 below; helmet decorated with elaborate crowned crest; coats-of-arms around. Moeser & Dworachak 97; Moser & Tursky 64; Levinson IV-49a; Frey 274; Davenport 8087. Toned, hairlines, edge marks, very lightly chased. VF.

From the David C. Bianchi II Collection. Ex Triton XIII (5 January 2010), lot 1456.

The increasing pace of international trade in the late 15th century created a need for a large silver coin, and fresh discoveries of silver ore in the Alpine foothills provided the raw material for their production. As a result, Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol set up a mint in Hall (east of Innsbruck) close to the silver mines of nearby Schwaz. The Hall mint, operating from within the protective walls of Burg Hasegg, quickly became a major innovator in mint technology. Sigismund’s half guldiners of 1484 and full guldiners of 1486 are regarded as the bridge between medieval and modern coinage. Though the types are evocative of medieval knighthood, these coins represent a significant advancement as the first crown-sized silver coins to circulate in Europe.

Closing Date and Time: 20 May 2026 at 12:53:40 ET.



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