Austrian Netherlands 1773(a) 1/2 souverain d'or Fr-138
This specimen was lot 92 in Schulman auction 388 (Amsterdam, December 2025), where it sold for €2,500 (about US$3,523 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT - Souverain d'or 1773, MARIE-THERÈSE 1740-1780 Bruxelles. 3me type petit module. Buste voile a droite. R/. ecu ovale couronne, dessous mm. et date. RR. Tres rare Fines griffes. Superbe. (duchy of Brabant, gold souverain of 1773, Maria Theresia, Brussels mint, third type with small module. Obverse: veiled bust right; reverse: crowned oval arms, mintmark and date below. Very rare, hairlines, 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.
Recorded mintage: 18,000.
Specification: 5.53 g, 0.919 fine gold, 0.163 troy oz AGW, this specimen 5.53 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-138, KM 26, Delm. 218; de W. 1138; Vanhoudt 812.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Absil, Andrew, Olle Cederholm, Erik de Visser and Rik van Noorloos, Schulman sale 388: 145 Year Jubilee Sale, Amsterdam: Schulman b.v., 2025.
Link to: