Owner Comments:
“A moment of your time, please, Your Majesty!” Upon hearing this, King Ludwig turned swiftly around, interrupting his leisurely morning stroll through the royal gardens. His eyes met an amusing sight, for amid the white cobblestone road and marble statues there was a man running towards him. “Your Majesty! Wait,” exclaimed the man breathlessly, not noticing that his own wig had fallen slightly askew owing to his frantic run. “What is it, dear Franz?” - asked the King, understanding the runner as his Munzkabinet Director, Franz Ignaz von Streber - “don’t hurry yourself, please explain what is going on.” Franz began, “Your Majesty, I rush so as to present to you your first Taler, the one which will premier the new series of memorial coins in our Munzkabinet, to glorify our legendary scholars and artisans! The first Taler is thus ready!” Excitedly, the King replied, “Of course, I remember when you first introduced to me the idea of this memorial coin series in June! You had presented it beautifully then: ‘These coins will carry the names of famous Bavarians throughout Europe for centuries, each as its own monument to the King!’ I could not have said better myself. So tell me of our first Taler, who has the honor of appearing upon it?” The director revealed a beautiful coin glimmering on purple velvet and presented it to the King. “Reichenbach and Fraunhofer!” The Taler had inscribed upon it the faces of two gentlemen acknowledging each other in profile - “Interesting,” said the King, “and who are these two?” “These, Your Highness, are our two famous compatriots! Reichenbach was a brilliant machinist and Fraunhofer was a virtuoso glassworker. Unfortunately they both lost their lives this year and Bavaria is still in mourning, so this Taler will be an eternal commemoration to our masterful artisans!” Unable to hide an air of skepticism, Ludwig inquired, “Forgive me Franz, but what is it that they have created to deserve such highest of praises?” Incredulously, Franz replied, “Everything, Your Majesty! They have wrought iron bridges, our Bavarian saltworks, optical manufacturing, instruments of astronomical and geological variety, etc… Our telescopes and astrolabes are widely to be considered the finest in the world - even finer than those of the English. All thanks to Reichenbach and Fraunhofer, eternal memory to them, who have lost their lives at such a young age! In fact, I believe..” Having said this, the Munzkabinet Director lowered his voice and leaned closer to the King, “… that over at that glass factory they both inhaled a fair amount of poisonous gases, and their hearts couldn’t withstand it. It’s such a shame, they could have devised so many brilliant inventions yet.” Smiling, the King answered, “Well alright, you convinced me. It’s just that.. on the Taler, why do they look at each other in such a way, as though they are about to kiss? The jokesters in our country would instantly call it something ridiculous, for example, the Kissing Taler or something… Is there no other way to orient these two upon the coin?” Laughing, the director replied, “Your Majesty, we tried various alternatives, and this is the most optimal variant we could imagine - surely they cannot be looking in opposite directions!” The King looked at him with a content sense of resolution. Giving back the coin to the director, Ludwig said, “Fine by me, please release it into circulation. Let it be known to all as the Kissing Taler.” With this, the King resumed his morning walk through the gardens, amid the beautiful marble statues and the gleaming faces of hundreds of happy flowers...
___________________________________________________________________________________________
German Talers since 1800 by John S. Davenport.
Bavaria, King Ludwig Series (1825 - 1848).
Taler 1826, REICHENBACH AND FRAUNHOFER.
Davenport 558, KM 721, Thun 51, AKS 114, J.32.
Minted on the death of the scientists Reichenbach and Fraunhofer.
Obverse: Head fo Ludwig to the right, LUDWIG I KOENIG VON BAYERN. ZEHN EINE FEINE MARK.
Reverse: DEM VERDIENSTE SEINE KRONEN, two heads facing each other, 1826, REICHENBACH --- FRAUNHOFER below.
NGC MS 63.
28.0600 g., 0.8680 Silver, 0.7830 oz. ASW.
Commemorative "Historic" Taler of Ludwig I of Bavaria - to Commemorate the Death of the scientists Reichenbach and Fraunhofer. Attractive patina with touch of pink hue at the edges. Heavily toned fields with some contact marks and rubbing spots determine the grade - graded as MS 63 by NGC. Still great collectible and RARE in MS coin!!