Owner Comments:
As usual during his Fridays, Ludwig enjoyed walking along the vibrant corridors of the palace garden and discussing the role of the individual in the history of the State. This time, his companion was his old friend and mentor Ignaz von Streber, the curator of the Numismatic Museum and the Muenzkabinet Director in charge of the Mint. The conversation, of course, focused on Napoleon Bonaparte. “You see, Ignaz, the State is nothing without a strong Ruler, and a Ruler without the State is also nothing - any dictator will need the people, who will carry him in their arms. Take Napoleon for example: only after his arrival onto the scene did France win any number of grand victories, and the map of Europe was redone, as entire governments lost their borders! All because of the actions of one person! Take Julius Caesar, too, and Alexander the Great! Caesar of course took pride in Roman democracy, yet he managed to snatch half of the world of his own accord.” - Ludwig stopped and took a sip of wine from the offered glass. “All these outcries about democracy and the senatorial power of the people are for nothing if a dictator rises to power,” he continued. “Or an Emperor - a man who can look to the future and can present it to ordinary people. And then they will all follow him like sheep to the slaughter - shall we recall Napoleon again? Actually, why even go so far? Take my famous ancestor, Elector Maximilian III Joseph, whom everyone called ‘Maximilian the Beautiful.’ He alone managed to save our country from complete collapse during the Seven-Year War, keeping the borders and essentially creating the Bavarian State as we know it, our beautiful Bavaria, the cultural center of fine art and higher education, with its singular laws and fundamental sciences.” Von Streber chimed in, coughing in embarrassment, “Forgive me, Your Majesty, you are absolutely correct. The ruler must make decisions. And Maximilian III Joseph was an absolutely outstanding personality within the history of our country, but…” he paused, “…do not forget that he was also surrounded by people of extraordinary intelligence and talent - for example the Chancellor Kreitmayr, for one - after all, it was he who wrote the Codex of the Bavarian Laws of Maximilian, the Codex Maximilianeus Bavaricus Civilic… It was necessary to be a very educated and outstanding person in order to be able to bring together hundreds of Bavarian laws and regulations in those long distant and troubled times, and Kreitmayr certainly handled the task brilliantly! By the way, Your Majesty, I would recommend that you add the Baron to your list of prominent people in Bavaria. Surely his bust is worthy of your “Hall of Fame.” Ludwig smiled, saying, “Of course, my dear Ignaz.” He looked thoughtfully at his mentor. “How could I forget? Alois Wigulaus Freyhern von Kreitmayr! My father AND grandfather had his books on their tables! The Code of Laws, Criminal Law… of course this person deserves a separate page in the history of our Bavaria. His monument is already adorned in the Maximiliansplatz - the father of the Bavarian Jurisprudence, the right hand of Maximilian Joseph, Honorary member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, etc…” The King thought to himself that surely the Baron was worthy of his prestigious Hall of Fame. “Furthermore!” continued Von Streber, “We prepared a sketch of the new Taler of ‘Baron Kreitmayr’ .. it will depict a monument to the Baron, and the name of this phenomenally influential individual will remain etched in the history of Bavaria forever!” The King nodded in joyous agreement as they now continued walking along the sunlit tennis courts, talking eagerly and enthusiastically about just how difficult it is to be a good king.
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The name of Baron Alois Wigulaus von Kreitmayr remained in the history of Germany as the name of the person who created a single code of laws and essentially became the father of Bavarian jurisprudence. His books Criminal Law (Codex Juris Bavarici Criminalis, 1751), Code of Civil Procedure (Codex Juris Bavarici Judicarii, 1753), and Private Law (Codex Maximilianeus Bavaricus Civilis, 1756) formed the basis of Bavarian civil and criminal law for many decades. Unfortunately, the Baron’s excessive addiction to the implementation of the death penalty as a means of capital punishment, as well as his support of using torture as a means of interrogation eventually led to his work being regarded by many as crude and artless. This led to him gradually losing popularity among the leading minds of Germany. The monument to Kreitmayr was destroyed during World War II and personified the lessons learned by Nazism, as it was decided not to restore it - now, in his place, upon the Maximiliansplatz, stands a sad figure of Schiller. But we still remember Baron von Kreitmayer - thanks for the Ludwig’s Passion and the Commemorative Two Talers coin.
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German Talers since 1800 by John S. Davenport.
Bavaria, King Ludwig Series (1825 - 1848).
2 Taler 1845, BARON VON KREITTMAYR.
Davenport 592, KM 820, Thun 84, AKS 107, J.75, Schw. 31.
To Commemorate the statue erected to Chancellor Baron von Kreittmayr in Munich.
Obverse: Head of the Ludwig to the right, LUDWIG I KOENIG VON BAYERN.
Reverse: STANDBILD DES CANZLER'S FREYHERNN V. KREITTMAYR ERRICHTET IN MUNCHEN 1845, Statue of the Baron.
37.1200 g., 0.9000 Silver, 1.0740 oz. ASW.
NGC MS 63 PL.
Clear uncirculated mirrored fields with full luster preserved, this historic taler definitely deserves PL tier by snow white strike of the design with frosty appearance of the portrait and details. Some excessive hairlines on the fields probably determined the grade. One of the lowest certified population taler - most of this type you can see in non-certified state on auctions! Great collectible find!