(sold for $188.0)

1659, Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle, Christian Louis.  Silver Thaler Coin. NGC VF+

Mint Year: 1659 Mint Place: Clausthal Denomination: Thaler Mint Master: Lippold Weber (LW) Reference: Davenport 6521, KM-211. Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as VF (Details: Cleaned!) Diameter: 45mm Weight: 28.5gm Material: Silver

Obverse: Stallion jumping left within wreath. Cross topped orb above. Legend: SINCERE ET CONSTANTER * ANNO * 1659 * Reverse: Shield with arms of Brunswick-Luneburg ornated with five family helmets, the middle topped by horse within frame. Comments: Mint master´s initals (LW) in left field, crossed axes (privy mark of Clausthal) in right field! Legend: CHRISTIAN : LUDOVICUS D. G . DUX BR : ET LUNEB .

The title "Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg" (German: Herzog zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg) was held, from 1235, by various members of the Welf family who ruled several small territories in northwest Germany. These holdings did not have all of the formal characteristics of a state, being neither compact nor indivisible. When several sons of a Duke competed for power, the lands were often divided between them; when a branch of the family lost power or became extinct, the lands were reallocated among surviving members of the family; different dukes might also exchange territories. The territories were named after notable towns where the dukes had (or had had at one time) their residences, e.g. Calenberg, Celle, Göttingen, Grubenhagen, Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel. The unifying element of all these territories was that they were ruled by male-line descendants of Duke Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, nephew of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV.

Christian Louis (German: Christian Ludwig; 25 February 1622, Herzberg am Harz – 15 March 1665, Celle) was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. From 1641 until 1648 he ruled the Calenberg subdivision of the duchy, and from 1648 until his death the Lüneburg subdivision.

In 1641, Christian Louis inherited Calenberg from his father, Duke George, who had suddenly died. When he also inherited Lüneburg from his uncle, Duke Frederick, in 1648, he gave Calenberg to his younger brother George William, and instead ruled the larger territory of Lüneburg.

Christian Louis married Dorothea, daughter of Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg on October 9, 1653. He died childless in 1665 and was succeeded by his brother George William.