Bavaria 1733 carolin Fr-232
This specimen was lot 1466 in Künker Auction 425 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €1,200 (about US$1,699 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DEUTSCHE MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN · BAYERN, HERZOGTUM, SEIT 1623 KURFÜRSTENTUM, Karl Albert, 1726-1745. Karolin 1733, München. GOLD. Hübsche Goldpatina, sehr schön +. (Germany, electorate of Bavaria, Charles Albert, 1726-45, carolin of 1733, Munich mint. Handsome gold patina, very fine or better.)"
The eighteenth century saw a fad for absolutist rulers issuing gold coins named after themselves. The most important was the French louis d'or introduced by Louis XIII and issued until the French Revolution in 1789. In Prussia, Frederick the Great minted the friedrichs d'or and Denmark alternated between frederiks d'or and christians d'or depending on who held the throne. In Bavaria, the carolin d'or superseded the maximilian d'or in 1726 but was minted only until 1737 along with half and double carolin d'or. An imperial decree of 1736 banned their production by reason of the low fineness of gold. The type shown here was issued 1732-35.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 9.70 g, 0.770 fine gold, 26.5 mm diameter, this specimen 9,70 g.
Catalog reference: KM 424, Fr-232; Hahn 259.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 425: Gold coins from the Medieval and Modern Times, from the Mohr family collection, e.g. | Silver coins, e.g. highlights of medallic art | German coins after 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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