Brabant 1619(a) ducaton Dav-4428
This specimen was lot 783 in Jean Elsen sale 159 (Brussels, June 2024), where it sold for €340 (about US$437 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Albert et Isabelle (1598-1621), AR ducaton, 1619, Bruxelles. D/ B. accolés des archiducs à d. R/ Ecu couronné, tenu par deux lions, au-dessus du bijou de la Toison d'or. Craquelures du flan. Légère faiblesse de frappe. Très Beau. (duchy of Brabant, Albert and Isabella, 1598-1621, silver ducaton of 1619, Brussels mint. Obverse: accolated busts of the archdukes right; reverse: crowned arms supported by two lions, the jewel of the Golden Fleece below. Planchet cracks, slightly weakly struck, very fine.)"
Ducatons were issued in the Spanish Netherlands and associated states (including the bishopric of Liège and Franche Comte) during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, where they competed with French écus, German talers and Dutch daalders and patagons. The type shown here was struck at the Antwerp mint 1618-19 and at the Brussels mint 1618-21 (shown here). A very similar coin was struck for Tournai (Dav-4430). The SCWC notes the Brussels issues as the most common, followed by the Antwerp issue, tho none are plentiful today. The series is plagued by bad planchets and poor strikes, reducing their appeal to collectors.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 32.48 g, 0.944 fine silver, .985 troy oz ASW, this specimen 32,29 g.
Catalog reference: KM 49.2, Dav-4428, G.H. 309-3; Delm-249; W. 961; VH 617.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 159, Collection Harry Dewit, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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