Bohemia 1585 ducat Fr-12
The first specimen was lot 30361 in Heritage sale 3029 (New York, January 2014), where it sold for $3,525. The catalog description[1] noted, "Rudolph II gold Ducat 1585, Prague mint, UNC Details (Mount Removed) NGC. An attractive example with the details well struck-up. Marks from the mount removal are not readily apparent, but there is a slight crease running the full diameter of the coin from 1:00 to 7:00 of the obverse. The reverse fields are flashy and overall this example is very choice. Ex: 'Colonel' E.H.R. Green; Green Estate' Partnership of Eric P Newman/B.G. Johnson." The second specimen was lot 3813 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,149 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Rudolf II. 1576-1612. Dukat 1585, Prag. Münzmeister Lazar Ercker. GOLD. Min. gewellt, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Exemplar der Auktion Aurea Numismatika 61, Prag 2015, Nr. 15. (Holy Roman Empire, Rudolf II, 1576-1612, ducat of 1585, Prague mint. Slightly wavy, very fine to extremely fine.)"
Friedberg lists this type for 1583-94 and notes that Vienna struck this type as well (see Fr-87).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, the second specimen is 3.42 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-12 (Bohemia), Fr-88 (Austria); Dietiker 428; Halacka 294. The first specimen is KM MB295 (with order chain), the second specimen is KM MB244 (without).
- 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.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Stuart Levine and Bruce Lorich, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3029, featuring Selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection, Part III, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2013.
- [2]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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