Best looking Teutonic Order. Maximilian II of Austria

doppeltaler · December 22, 2018 6:31AM

Hello,
I have been waiting to get a double thaler of Teutonic Order. Maximilian II of Austria 2. Now i don't have a large budget but the thing that has been putting me off for the most part was the face of the grand master. Face of the grand master on most double thalers looked ghastly and some downright scary. I saw the first coin here accidentally on last week's Heritage Thursday night sale. Although it is badly repaired and cleaned , i liked the obverse and Maximilian II looked human . So i won the coin last Thursday. probably not a wise choice in terms of future value but i liked it.
Here is the coin i won and obverse from few others i got from Heritage archives. Three of them are actually up for sale at the moment.

All pictures are copy right material from Heritage.

Coin #1

Coin #2

Coin #3

Coin #4

Coin #5

Coin #6

Coin #7

Coin #8

Coin #9

Zohar · December 22, 2018 8:44AM

Indeed a sharp obverse - well done. Mine has the mushy face.

291fifth · December 22, 2018 9:53AM

Don't you wonder who once wore it and when? Then you can also wonder about just who plugged and repaired the hole and when. A lot could have happened in the 404 years since that coin was struck!

doppeltaler · December 22, 2018 10:01AM

yes and why didnt they think of a mount instead plug

jgenn · December 22, 2018 2:59PM

Human brains are hard-wired to focus on faces so we can't avoid placing more emphasis on a face/portrait design element. I think you made a good choice and you (and me too) will continue to react negatively to the poorly defined facial features of the other examples. Many hammered and early milled coins, leuwendaalders, any standing or seated liberty -- Dutch 3 gulden, Peru Republic 8 reales and Saint-Gaudens double eagle, come to mind -- can have weakly-struck or deformed faces. To me, it's a significant factor in eye-appeal and may cause me to choose a details coin over a straight grade.