Austrian Netherlands 1785(a) kronenthaler Dav-1284
This specimen was lot 584 in Jean Elsen list 269 (Brussels, July-August 2014), where it was offered for €90 (about US$122). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Joseph II (1780-1790), AR couronne, 1785, Bruxelles. Droit: Tête laurée à droite. Revers: Croix de Bourgogne entre trois couronnes, ornée du bijou de la Toison d'or. Très Beau (duchy of Brabant, Joseph II (1780-90), silver crown of 1785, Brussels mint. Obverse: laureate bust to right; reverse: Burgundy cross between three crowns, jewel of the Golden Fleece below. Very fine.)"
This type was struck in 1781-90 during the reign of Joseph II, reforming 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", Dav-1170); the Vienna and Brussels issue are about equally common. 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: 928,000.
Specification: 29.44 g, 0.873 fine silver; this specimen is 29,37 g.
Catalog reference: W., 1149; Delm-393, Dav-1284, KM 32.
- 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.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Liste 269: Juillet-Septembre 2014, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2014.
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