Austrian Netherlands 1749(h)R 1/2 souverain d'or Fr-132

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Jean Elsen sale 135, lot 993

This specimen was lot 993 in Jean Elsen sale 135 (Brussels, December 2017), where it sold for €1,900 (about US$2,632 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRABANT, Duché, Marie-Thérèse (1740-1780), AV souverain, 1749, Anvers. Premier type. Grand module. Tranche laurée. D/ B. couronné à d. R/ Ecu échancré d'Autriche-Bourgogne, couronné, sur une croix de Bourgogne. Rare. presque Superbe. (duchy of Brabant, Maria Theresia, 1740-80, gold souverain of 1749, Antwerp mint, first type, large diameter, laureate edge. Obverse: crowned bust to right; reverse: crowned ornate arms of Austria-Burgundy over a Burgundian cross. Rare, about extremely fine.)"

The SCWC correctly catalogs this as a half souverain d'or, as is clear by the weight. Friedberg is confusing, calling this a souverain d'or with a small diameter so the cataloguers at Jean Elsen can be forgiven for the error. The coin was raised to a souverain d'or in the 1780's, doubling its value. The "(h)" in the page title refers to the hand mintmark on the reverse, signifying Antwerp; a lion was used for Bruges. 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.

Recorded mintage: 1,676.

Specification: 5.53 g, 0.919 fine gold, .163 troy oz AGW, 25 mm diameter; this specimen is 5,54 g.

Catalog reference: KM 9, W. 1113; Delm-210; V.K. 26a, Fr-132.

Source:

  • Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
  • van der Wis, Jan, and Tom Passon, Catalogus van de Nederlandse Munten geslagen sind bet aantreden van Philips II tot aan het einde van de Bataafse Republiek (1555-1806), 2nd ed., Apeldoorn, Netherlands: Omni-Trading b.v., 2009.
  • 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.
  • [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 135, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2017.

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