Austrian Netherlands 1782(a) kronenthaler Dav-1284
This specimen was lot 856 in Jean Elsen sale 159 (Brussels, June 2024), where it sold for €400 (about US$514 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Joseph II (1780-1790), AR couronne, 1782, Bruxelles. D/ T. laurée à d. R/ Croix de Bourgogne entre trois couronnes, ornée du bijou de la Toison d'or. Très Beau à Superbe. (duchy of Brabant, Joseph II, 1780-90, silver crown thaler of 1782, Brussels mint. Obverse: laureate head right; reverse: Burgundian cross between three crowns, adorned with the jewel of the Golden Fleece. Very fine to extremely fine.)"
This type was struck in 1781-90 during the reign of Joseph II, busybody son of Maria Theresia. It replaced the Maria Theresia's kronenthaler (Dav-1282) with a more conventional portrait type. This date was also struck at Vienna (mintmark "A") and is more common therefrom. The Austrians lost Belgium to Revolutionary France in 1797. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, Belgium passed to the king of the Netherlands.
Recorded mintage: 30,000, the key date.
Specification: 29.44 g, 0.873 fine silver; this specimen 29,33 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-1284, KM 32, W. 1149; Delm-393; VH 852.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 159, Collection Harry Dewit, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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