Owner Comments:
Ludwig anxiously awaited news from Nuremberg. He could not believe the mere possibility that soon enough, his own two hands would be holding one of Germany’s most precious treasures - the thought alone would not let the King even a moment of sleep for several days! Handling such growing apprehension did not come easily to Ludwig, as he paced back and forth throughout the richly decorated hallways of the palace, mistrustfully eyeing the ancestral portraits leering at him from the walls. Stopping at one wall, he abruptly would move to another: he simply could not find the right spot for the next painting. “Too narrow here… too dark there! This will not do, the centerpiece of the whole damn collection cannot hang there! A portrait from the Master himself! And autographed from the first brushstroke to the bloody last!” How many countless times already has he thanked the skies for the greed of the many-chinned from the Nuremberg Magistrate and the geniality of his own great-grandfather Maximilian, who together with his help, of course, agreed to this clever combination - the result of which turned his own precious Munich into the ‘Capital of Elegant Artwork’, into a museum-city, and he, Ludwig, remains as a worthy successor and continuator of the tradition of the Great Maximilian, the Elector of Bavaria. It was truly a brilliant idea: replacing (hidden from public notice) the true artists’ canvases with artificially reproduced copies, and even leaving them in their original frames… It was not difficult to find artists to complete such a job, for it was much harder to garner the support of the mayor and the artistic collective of trustees - but knowing the exorbitant appetite of the heads of urban administration and their love for true Bavarian Talers - this proved quite the feasible task. In 1627 the Council already sold to Granpa Max the two great panels of the “Four Preachers” - the Master’s last gift to his hometown. Ludwig also would not let himself be bought, especially when the conversation turns to the greatest artist of all time and all cultures! Albrecht Durer…The greatest Master of engraving and xylography, the Northern Renaissance’s True Father and shameless Theoretic. His mysterious and majestic canvases, that decorated palaces and cathedrals all across Europa or the exquisite bas-reliefs and engravings which to this day shatter minds and of themselves write entire tomes of philosophy and palmism - everything the Great Master touched turned instantly to masterpiece status; and kept under crushing safeguard in Museums and palace collections, Everywhere ….. but not in his own Nuremberg! How many decades has the Grand Master been in business with his drawings and blanks, not referring of course to the completed fabrics that were sold ineptly and wastefully, replaced, cut out of the frames by city officials, ready to burn the world if only for money alone, even to go as far as to destroy the sacred artworks of the Genius Master himself! Ludwig went to Nuremberg and beheld the horrid, absurd copies from local artists, many of which remained in their original frames, the frames that felt the hand of the Original Master’s touch. Even thinking about this travesty would cause the King heartache. He thought of the swindled masses, looking into the holy faces on massive palace-tier bas-reliefs and engravings, not realizing that they pray to cheap and profane reproductions, the originals of which already long ago hang in the palace of and delight the eyes of himself, The King of Bavaria, Ludwig I.
The courier arrived from Nuremberg already well past midnight. Not glancing at lateness of time, Ludwig ordered the portrait delivery into the throne room, impatiently waiting while the servants carefully brought it in and set the cloth down on a specially prepared stand. Palace artists and restorators stood alongside the King; their task consisted of meticulously and extremely carefully replacing all damaged details within the artwork, and to prepare it for the King’s personal collection. Finally with everything readied, the crew removed the gray fabric that choked the portrait and then, Master Durer’s stern eyes met with the eyes of the King of Bavaria, Ludwig. Silently they observed one another, the Virtuoso Artist and the Bavarian King, separated by vast stretches of time, and Ludwig for the first time felt that under such a prodigious gaze, his thoughts, those that had long tortured him and not let him sleep, suddenly became clear and rational and the Kingly soul became immediately light, strangely carrying a slight aroma of fresh lemongrass. He knew then what he must do.
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Albrecht Durer’s self-portrait was given as a gift to the Town Council by Durer himself, and, like many other works from the hands of the Master, were collected by the King of Bavaria. The tragedy was that the original painting was given secretly to some local painter to make a copy. That painter ingeniously SAWED the panel in half and attached his copy on to the back, on which were the Town Seal and other ownership markings. The original went to King Ludwig, and the poor citizens and the Magistrate were looking at the fraudulent copy until our present days as a monument to dishonor and greed. Several times, King Ludwig returned several original banners to his hometown, for instance, “Descent from the Cross”, known as the Peller Altar-piece, as well as “Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds” from Schleissheim… and thus, to carve the name of the great Son of Germany into the Ages, erected a monument to the Great Master in his native city. And of course, the memorial 2 Taler coin - how could we even dare to forget….
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German Talers since 1800 by John S. Davenport.
Bavaria, King Ludwig Series (1825 - 1848).
2 Taler 1840, Albrecht Durer.
Davenport 585, KM 806 (427), Thun 78, AKS 101, J.69, Schw. 25.
To Commemorate erection of statue to Albrecht Durer in Nuremberg in 1840.
Obverse: Head of the Ludwig to the right, LUDWIG I KOENIG VON BAYERN.
Reverse: STANDBILD A. DURER'S ERRICHTET ZU NURNBERG, 1840, Statue of Dürer.
Edge: ** VII E.F.M. ** DREY-EINHALB GULDEN.
37.1200 g., 0.9000 Silver, 1.0740 oz. ASW.
PCGS MS 63.
Another collectible gem, large Commemorative coin 2 Thalers of Ludwig I of Bavaria, so-called "Historic Thaler" - desirable piece for any German Coin collectors! This one was minted to Commemorate statue of the Albtecht Durer in Nuremberg. Uncirculated fields with attractive patina, some bronze toning with touch of rainbow, more prominent on obverse! Single contact marks on the fields. Rare to find in MS state. Another great collectible and investment item!