(sold for $5.0)

1759, Harz (Brunswick-Luneburg). Nice Copper Mint Master´s Pfennig Coin. VF+

Mint Year: 1759 Mint Place: Zellerfeld      Condition: Minor deposits, otherwise VF+ Mint Master (maker): Johann Benjamin Hecht (1739-1762) Denomination: Mint Master´s Pfennig  (Münzemeisterpfennig) Material: Copper Diameter: 27mm Weight: 4.78gm

Obverse: Giant female figure (Fortuna?) walking left, being led by a thread which is held by a divine hand. She carrying a back-pack from which money is falling down on tiny trees. Sun rising from left below divine hand. Legend:  DEO DVCE .

Reverse: Coat-of-amrs of the Johann Benjamin Hecht (mint-master, 1739-1762). Date (1-7-5-9) split in fields below. Legend: I.B.HECHT.K.GR.BR.A.C.V.F.BR.LVN.MVNTZ.MEISTER.Z.Z.

The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (German: Herzogtum Braunschweig-Lüneburg), or more properly the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical duchy that existed from the late Middle Ages to the Early Modern era within the Holy Roman Empire. The duchy was located in what is now northwestern Germany. Its name came from the two largest cities in the territory: Brunswick and Lüneburg. The dukedom emerged in 1235 from the allodial lands of the House of Welf in Saxony and was granted as an imperial fief to Otto the Child, a grandson of Henry the Lion. The duchy was divided several times during the High Middle Ages amongst various lines of the House of Welf, but each ruler was styled "Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg" in addition to his own particular title. By 1692, the territories had consolidated to two: the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. In 1714, the Hanoverian branch of the family succeeded to the throne of Great Britain, which they would rule in personal union with Hanover until 1837. For this reason, many cities and provinces in former British colonies are named after Brunswick or Lüneburg. The Hanoverians never ruled Brunswick while they held the British throne, as the city was part of neighboring Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. After the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15, the Brunswick-Lüneburg territories became the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick.

The Harz is a Mittelgebirge that has the highest elevations in Northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart (hill forest), Latinized as Hercynia. The Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with an elevation of 1,141.1 metres (3,744 ft) above sea level. The Wurmberg (971 metres (3,186 ft)) is the highest peak located entirely within the state of Lower Saxony.