1 Thaler    (sold for $172.0)

1778, Kingdom of Bavaria, Charles Theodore. Large Silver Madonna Thaler Coin. XF-AU!

Mint Year: 1778 Mint Place: Munnich   Denomination: Silver Thaler Reference: Davenport 1964, KM-563.1. Condition: Weight-adjusting marks in reverse, minor contact-marks in fields, otherwise a nice XF-AU! Weight: 27.92gm Diameter: 42mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Bust of Charles Theodore (Karl Theodor) right.  wearing Order of the Golden Fleece and cross order right. Legend: CAR . TH . D . G . C . P . R . V . E . D . S . R . I . A . & . EL . D . I . C . & . M . Comment: Engraver´s initials (H.ST.) in arm truncation.   everse: The Virgin (Madonna) seated in clouds, holding baby-Jesus  child and cross-topped orb in left hand and scepter in right hand. Legend: PATRONA BAVARIAE . / 1778 .   Edge Legend: CONFIDO IN DOMINO

Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria (German: Karl Theodor) (December 11, 1724 – February 16, 1799) reigned as Prince-Elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Sulzbach, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

Karl Theodor was a great lover of the arts, including drama and  especially music. His Mannheim court orchestra was considered one of  the finest in its time. The Mannheim School (including composer Christian Cannabich and conductor Johann Stamitz) did groudbreaking work that the celebrated Wiener Klassik would later draw upon. Mozart applied for a position with the Mannheim orchestra in 1777, but was  turned down, as the court was about to move to Munich. In 1780, Karl  Theodor commissioned Idomeneo from the composer. Mozart quotes him as saying "No music has ever made such an impression on me. It is magnificent." (David Cairns, Mozart and his operas, 2006, p.48)

In keeping with the customs of the time, an Italian opera company as  well as a troupe of French actors were employed at Mannheim, each  performing in their respective tongues. Later, the Nationaltheater (national theatre) was established, one of the first theatres in  Germany to exclusively showcase plays in the native tongue (most  notably, the first staging of Schiller's "Die Räuber" in 1782).

In the visual arts, a massive collection of plaster casts taken from  celebrated antique works was assembled at Mannheim. The preexisting Düsseldorf gallery, including many works by Rubens, was first transferred to Mannheim, then to Munich, where it was later incorporated in the Alte Pinakothek.  While none of the Mannheim painters are particularly notable today  (with the possible exception of Kobell, primarily a master of  landscapes), the elector had several highly talented sculptors at his  disposal, among them Verschaffelt, Simon Peter Lamine and Konrad Linck. Linck also distinguished himself as a designer of porcelain figurines at Frankenthal.

Karl Theodor's chief architect Nicolas de Pigage was charged to complete the Mannheim Palace, design the gardens at Schwetzingen Palace ( including numerous pavilions, among them several artificial "Roman" ruins and a "mosque") as well as Benrath palace.  While these works are in a pure contemporary French style (marked by  the transition from late Baroque to early classicism), some of the  other architects employed by Karl Theodor were proponents of a more  Italianate style. This mixture of influences is, in fact, typical of  many German courts of the period.

Karl Theodor liked to style himself as a prince of peace, in  contrast to other princes like his chief political opponent, the great  warrior Frederick II of Prussia. Allegorically, Minerva,  the Roman goddess of wisdom and protectress of the arts, is often  depicted as a stand-in for the elector himself. This self-view is best  summed up in the inscription of a small monument at Schwetzingen:

"A field of war and death of Romans and Germans has been  discovered, through the unearthing of weapons, urns and bones, in the  year 1765. - To the arts of peace, which are the sole joys of his life,  the elector Charles Theodore has dedicated this spot, excavated to the  height of seven feet, and had this monument erected in 1768."

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