GERMANY. Teutonic Order. Goldgulden, ND (1521). Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach. NGC VF Details--Removed from Jewelry. Fr-3375; Neumann-35. Weight: 2.74 gms. Obverse: The Virgin Mary facing, holding Holy Infant; coat-of-arms below; Reverse: Voided cross potent, with crowns at limbs and coat-of-arms at center; coat-of-arms in each angle. One of just a few examples known, this EXCESSIVELY RARE gold issue does exhibit some evidence of being removed from jewelry, but it is likely this repurposing early on that saved it from the melting pot. For the collector of late medieval or early modern German gold, there can be fewer crown jewels with regard to rarity and allure.Established in the Holy Land during the First Crusade, the Order transferred its principal seat to the then-pagan borderlands of Prussia, Lithuania, and Livonia after 1309. The Order continued to war with the Poles and Lithuanians until the its disastrous defeat at Tannenberg in 1410 tipped the balance against the Order. The Reformation arrived during the reign of Albrecht von Brandenburg, who embraced Protestantism in 1525 and declared himself a secular ruler as Duke of Prussia under nominal Polish suzerainty. Knights loyal to Catholicism removed to Mergentheim in Southern Germany and remained sovereign until 1809. This extraordinary Goldgulden in one of the last coins of the Order distinguished by Catholic iconography, with the present coin being the only example of its type available to collectors today--the other two being in the state collections of Koenigsberg and Vienna.</em> Ex: Stacks (1/2008) Lot # 2788.Ex: Peus 381 (11/2004) Lot # 2668.Ex: Peus 272 (1969) Lot # 1259.
