Batthyani 1791/0 ducat Fr-558
This specimen was lot 43032 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2026), where it sold for $7,800. The catalog description[1] noted, "Very Rare Noble Family Ducat, AUSTRIA. Batthyani. Ducat, 1791/0. Vienna Mint. Ludwig. NGC MS-63. A VERY RARE Ducat struck under the Hungarian Batthyani noble family, which held large quantities of land in Austria, Styria, and Bohemia. In payment for services rendered to the Holy Roman Empire, the Batthyanis were granted permission by empress Maria Theresa to mint their own coinage. This practice lasted from 1763 to 1806, during which time the vast majority of the output was composed of silver Talers and fractional denominations. Gold types such as the present piece are infrequently encountered, especially in such Choice condition. Clearly struck from recently polished dies, with a needle-sharp strike and watery flash to the fields, this piece is the only example of this one-year type certified by either NGC or PCGS and the first we can recall offering to date." We include the overdate in the title as all known specimens have it, even tho no 1790 ducat is known to exist. This prince of Hungarian origin struck a thaler in 1788 (KM 8), a half thaler in 1789 (KM 10), a twenty kreuzer in 1790 (KM 12) and this ducat. All are rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.50 g, 0.986 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-558; KM-13.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2026 NYINC Showcase Auction, Ancient and World Coins, featuring the Kazmier Wysocki Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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