Austria 1632 8 ducats Fr-133

From CoinVarieties
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Heritage sale 3096, lot 30103
H3096-30103r.jpg

This specimen was lot 30103 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $192,000. The catalog description[1] noted,

"Breathtaking St. Veit 8 Ducat, Perhaps the Finest Known. Austria - Ferdinand II gold 8 Ducat 1632 MS63 NGC, St. Veit mint, Hans Georg Perro as mintmaster. Struck from Taler dies (cf. KM 678). An absolute rarity, produced with an incredible level of precision that has left the devices deeply and fully expressed. Closer inspection confirms surfaces that radiate, having been unobscured by even the slightest forms of handling, while the whole of the flan has been beautifully formed, with not even the least bit of camber or bending present. Within the finer details of the bust--Ferdinand's hair, armor, and robe--definition remains strong, the designs lightly surrounded by tone as the open fields express a rich layer of original luster. For reference, we can draw upon only one other auction result from recent years, where a (likely inferior) piece brought 85,000 Euros in May 2017. As such, this specimen may only be the second example to have entered the marketplace since Adolph Hess's 1935 sale of the Franz Trau Collection. A lavish multiple ducat in all regards, likely incomparable in every way, destined to elevate the status of its next coin cabinet. From the Paramount Collection."

St. Veit used this design to strike twelve ducats (Fr-129), ten ducats (Fr-131a), nine ducats (Fr-132), eight ducats (shown here) and six ducats (Fr-136) in 1632. The Graz mint emitted a very similar series (Fr-127, -128, -130, -134, -135, -139). All are rare.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 28 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 27.87 g.

Catalog reference: KM 795, Fr-133 (Rare), Horsky-Unl., Trau Collection-201, MzA-129, Herinek-55.

Source:

  • Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
  • [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.

Link to:

Retrieved from "https://coinvarieties.com/index.php?title=Austria_1632_8_ducats_Fr-133&oldid=403530"