Austrian Netherlands 1770(a) 1/2 souverain d'or Fr-138

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Jean Elsen sale 158, lot 711

This specimen was lot 711 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €4,600 (about US$5,982 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRABANT, Duché, Marie-Thérèse (1740-1780), AV souverain, 1770, Bruxelles. Troisième type. D/ B. voilé à d. R/ Ecu ovale d'Autriche-Bourgogne, couronné, sur une croix de Bourgogne. Très rare. Fines traces d'ajustage au revers. Très Beau à Superbe. (duchy of Brabant, Maria Theresia, 1740-80, gold souverain of 1770, Brussels mint, third type. Obverse: veiled bust right; reverse: crowned oval arms of Austria-Burgundy over a Burgundian cross. Very rare, fine traces of adjustent marks, very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"

The souverain denomination was a holdover from Spanish rule in the seventeenth century and was struck until the collapse of the ancien regime. This style was struck 1770-77 at Brussels. To mark the death of Francis I in 1765, the empress's bust was modified to show her in a veil. The Austrians lost Belgium to Revolutionary France in 1797.

Reported Mintage: 13,000.

Specification: 5.53 g, 0.919 fine gold, 0.163 troy oz AGW; this specimen 5,55 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-138, KM 26, W. 1138; Delm-218; VH 812.

Source:

  • Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
  • 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 158, Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.

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