Bern 1788 2 ducats Fr-171
This specimen was lot 4137 in SINCONA Auction 98 (Zürich, May 2025), where it sold for 20,000 CHF (about US$29,010 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SCHWEIZ Bern, Stadt und Kanton, Doppeldukat 1788, Bern. Gekröntes Berner Wappen, in der Umschrift die Jahreszahl. Rv. Wertangabe mit Inschrift auf einer Kartusche. Sehr selten. Fast vorzüglich. (Switzerland, city and canton of Bern, double ducat of 1788, Bern mint. Obverse: crowned city arms, date in legend; reverse: inscription and value in a cartouche. Very rare, About Extremely Fine.)"
The climbing bear is the badge of Bern, Switzerland. This type, like all Bernese gold coins of the eighteenth century, is rare and expensive. Altho Friedberg says this issue and that of 1789 are the same type, the 1788 has a baroque cartouche and the 1789 has a simple oval.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 7 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 6.90 g.
Catalog reference: KM 138, D.T. 481, HMZ 2-212f, Fr-171.
- 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.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 98: The Konrad Bürki Collection - Part 3 (Swiss Cantonal Coins), Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
Link to: