Austria 1754 10 ducats Fr-400
This specimen was lot 1459 in Sincona sale 76 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 67,500 CHF (about US$81,932 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE - AUSTRIA. Maria Theresia, 1740-1780. 10 Dukaten 1754, Wien. Äusserst selten. Gutes vorzüglich. NGC AU55. (Austria, Maria Theresia, 1740-80, ten ducats of 1754, Vienna mint. Extremely rare, Good extremely fine.)"
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. Maria Theresia issued ten ducats along with quarter, half, single, double, triple, quadruple, five and six ducat gold pieces. All the denominations larger than double ducats are very rare. The SCWC does not mention this date.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 35 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 34.83 g.
Catalog reference: KM 1767 (unlisted date), Eypertauer 54 a. Herinek 8. Fr-400.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 76, The Annemarie and Gerd Köhlmoos Collection, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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