Basel ND 12 ducats Fr-79
This specimen was lot 30453 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $132,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Perhaps Only the Second Known Gold 12 Ducat-Weight "Glueckhennentaler". Switzerland: Basel. City gold Medallic "Clucking Hen (Glückhenne)" 12 Ducat ND (c. 17th Century) MS61 NGC. Struck from Taler dies (cf. SM-1169). Unsigned (possibly by Stefan Heinrich). A fanciful representative of this popular "ethical" medallic type, coupling the renowned imagery of the famous Germanic "City View" with the image of a mother hen guarding her chicks. Supposedly an allegory to the struggles between the administrators of the city and its citizens, these illustrations were meant to evoke the notion that the Grand Council saw to the protection of its "dear children," with the Latin legend translating to "She nourishes and protects." While the earliest issues in this series carried the initials of Friedrich Fecher, subsequent pieces, such as this, omitted the artist's initials. Although past auction listings have ascribed talers and lesser-weight multiple ducats from these dies to Stefan Heinrich (Hendrick), the last issue to bear his initials (SM-1168) shows a superior attention to detail and overall style as compared to the artistry seen here. Still, on aesthetic grounds, the current representative hardly admits grounds for complaint, it surfaces glassy with trace amounts of die polish visible around the basilisk-flanked arms of the city. Though the rarity of the type in this weight goes without saying, a survey of past major Swiss collections drives the point home with a remarkable poignancy: not Wilmersdörffer, Hauser-Späth, Hirzel, Wunderly, Bachofen, Iklé, Stroehlin, von Schluthess-Rechberg, the South Kensington Museum, Hess-Leu's 1964 Auction 25 Schweizer Goldmünzen, nor Leu's renowned sale Schweizer Medallien aus Altem Privatbesitz of 1989 contain an example. Indeed, the sole representative we have been able to find (listed as an 11-1/2 Ducat, though of very similar weight to this piece), was lot 1252 in Leo Hamburger's October 1931 sale of the Henry Fatio Collection (Auction Catalog 93). In more recent times, the nearest example we have been able to locate is a 10 Ducat, which reportedly brought 150,000 CHF in October 2020. Ex. Leu Numismatik Auction 80 (May 2001, Lot 264). From the Paramount Collection."
This type is not listed in the SCWC or HMZ because it is a medal, along with the similar six ducats and five ducats. We include it here because it is mentioned in Friedberg.
Recorded Mintage: unknown.
Specification: 42 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 43 mm diameter, 40.90 g.
Catalog reference: KM-Unl., Fr-79 var. (weight), HMZ-Unl., Divo-Unl., cf. SM-1169 (same dies, though struck in silver), Wunderly-2182 (same), Fatio Collection-1252.
- 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.
- Richter, Jürg, and Ruedi Kunzmann, Neuer HMZ-Katalog, Band 2: Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins 15//16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart, Regenstauf, Germany: H. Gietl Verlag GmbH, 2006.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, The Paramount Collection World & Ancient Coins: Signature Auction 3096, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
Link to:
- Basel (1620-50) ducat Fr-76
- 1640 ducat
- Basel (1720) 10 ducats Fr-72a "L. Munatius Plancus"