1504/1969, Salzburg, Leonhard v. Keutschach. Proof Silver Thaler Coin. NGC PF67!

Description

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1504/1969, Salzburg, Leonhard v. Keutschach. Proof Silver Thaler Coin. NGC PF67!
Mint Place: Vienna
Denomination: Thaler (Guldiner)
Mint Year: dated 1504, struck during 1969.
Condition:
Certified and graded by NGC as PF-67!
Reference: Davenport 8154 var. (
here a modern proof restrike!)
.
Material: Silver (.925)
Weight: ca. 35gm
Diameter: 45mm
Obverse:
Two Saints carrying a miniature church; above the city shield.
Legend: + SA - NCT: RVDBERDVS: EPVS. SANCT / VIRGILIVS - EPS.
Reverse:
Shields surmounted by the papal attributes: Date (1504)  below.
Legend: * LEONARDVS. DEI. GRACIA. ARCHIEPIVS. SALZEBVRGE
Authenticity unconditionally guaranteed.
Bid with confidence!
Leonhard von Keutschach
(c. 1442 – 8 June 1519) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1495 until his death, the last to rule in the feudal style.
He was probably born at Viktring in Carinthia, the son of Otto von Keutschach, a judge at the manorial court (
Hofrichter
), and Gertrud von Möderndorf. The Keutschach family came from the northern shore of Lake Keutschach. Their arms are a white turnip on a black field.
Leonhard started out as canon of the Augustinian order and provost of Eberndorf Abbey. In 1490 he was promoted as provost of the Salzburg chapter and in 1495 was elected prince-archbishop. In 1498 he again expelled the Salzburg Jews, who had returned to the area since their banishment in 1404, and had their synagogues at Salzburg and Hallein destroyed.
The City of Salzburg was politically unstable, after in 1481 Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg had granted its citizens the privilege to elect its own council and   mayor, which was the cause of a protracted struggle with the ruling   archbishops. In 1511, Leonhard ended the unrest: He invited the mayor   and councillors for a gala dinner, had them imprisoned and forced them   to renounce their rights. He proceeded to cement his position with nepotism, nominating relatives in key positions; he however had to accept Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, a former secretary of Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg as coadjutor bishop. Leonhard died at Salzburg, spending his last years unsuccessfully battling his coadjutor, who would succeed him in 1519.
Leonhard was an effective ruler, he reformed the archbishopric's   finances, paying off old debts and developing the economy by farming   out, increasing the salt production, the silver and gold mines and   promoting trade. His efforts made Salzburg one of the richest states of the Holy Roman Empire,   starting a long tradition of a local culture rich in music and art.   Leonhard also used his wealth to buy back lands sold by his predecessors   to cover their debt and to support Emperor Maximilian I financially,   which brought further economic and political advantages. He expanded the   defenses of the city, notably by strengthening Hohensalzburg Castle and a large number of castles in Salzburg and Carinthia. He ordered the   construction of river dams around Hallein to protect the city from   spring floods, but he also had the Radstädter Tauern Pass road and a number of new long distance routes constructed to promote   trade. He crowned his economic achievements by a coinage reform (
Rübentaler
) that was the basis for the modern Salzburger monetary system.
A decree promulgated by Archbishop Leonhard in 1504 was one of   the earliest actions in Europe to officially protect threatened animal   species, including the northern bald ibis,which nevertheless became extinct in Central Europe.
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