Austria 1750 ducat Fr-408
This specimen was lot 1592 in Sincona sale 63 (Zürich, June 2020), where it sold for 4,250 CHF (about US$5,325 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE - AUSTRIA, Maria Theresia, 1740-1780. Dukat 1750, Hall. Sehr selten. Vorzüglich. Leichte Fassungsspuren. (Holy Roman Empire, Maria Theresia, 1740-80, ducat of 1750, Hall mint. Very rare, Extremely fine, Minor traces of mounting.)"
On the death of Charles VI in 1740, the redoubtable Maria Theresia was crowned Archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary but, being a woman, could not be given the imperial crown. Therefore, after much debate and a war fomented by Frederick the Great of Prussia, her husband Francis of Lorraine was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1745. Ducats exist with portraits of both rulers; this one, struck 1750-65, is fairly common.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.48 g.
Catalog reference: KM 1783, Herinek 146. Fr-408.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Heinz Moser and Heinz Tursky, Die Munzstatte Hall in Tirol, 2 vols. Innsbruck: Verlag Dr Rudolf Erhad, 1981.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Sincona sale 63: Gold and Silver Coins and Medals, SINCONA Bullion Auction, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2020.
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