Brabant 1679(a) ducaton Dav-4475
This specimen was lot 670 in Jean Elsen sale 161 (Brussels, March 2025), where it sold for €1,000 (about US$1,302 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Charles II (1665-1700), AR ducaton, 1679, Bruxelles. Premier type. D/ B. enfantin à d. R/ Deux lions ten. une grande couronne au-dessus de l'écu du roi, orné du bijou de la Toison d'or. Bel exemplaire de frappe régulière. (duchy of Brabant, Charles II, 1665-1700, silver ducaton of 1679. Brussels mint, first type. Obverse: infant bust right; reverse: two lions support the crowned royal arms, adorned with the jewels of the Golden Fleece. Nice example with a good strike, 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 ducatons. The type shown here was struck at the Brussels mint 1666-80. A very similar coin was struck for Flanders. The SCWC notes the Flemish issues as more common than the Brabant 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 is 32,51 g.
Catalog reference: Dav-4475, KM 79.2, G.H. 348-2a; Delm. 327; W. 1073; VH 692.
- 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 161, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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