Bavaria 1852 ducat Fr-278
This specimen was lot 68 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €8,000 (about US$10,379 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BAYERN, KONIGREICH, Maximilian II. 1848-1864. Dukat 1852. Rheingold. GOLD. Äußerst selten in dieser Erhaltung. Nur ca. 500 Exemplare geprägt. Kabinettstück. Erstabschlag, Stempelglanz. (Germany, kingdom of Bavaria, Maximilian II, 1848-64, ducat of 1852, gold from the Rhine. Extremely rare in this quality, only about 500 pieces struck, cabinet piece, first strike, uncirculated.)"
Two types of ducat were issued in the 1850's; this type, with a city view and the legend "EX AURO RHENI" (from Rhenish gold) and Fr-277, with a conventional coat of arms on the reverse. Both are scarce. One of the results of unification was the termination of separate coinages for each of the independent states, including Bavaria. No ducats were struck after 1863. Bavaria issued coins using the united empire standard in the denominations of 2, 5, 10 and 20 mark during 1871-1918 when the empire collapsed at the end of World War One. King Maximilian II ruled 1848-64.
Recorded mintage: est. 500.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.937 fine gold, this specimen 3,49 g.
Catalog reference: KM 841 (formerly KM 462), Divo/S. 35; Fr-278; Schl. 114.
- 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, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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