Brabant 1683(a) ducaton Dav-4481

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Jean Elsen sale 118, lot 771
Brabant 1683 ducaton rev JElsen 118-771.jpg
CNG Triton XXVIII, lot 6407

This specimen was lot 771 in Jean Elsen sale 118 (Brussels, September 2013), where it sold for €240 (about US$378 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"BRABANT, Duché, Charles II (1665-1700), AR ducaton, 1683, Bruxelles. Deuxième type. Droit: B. juvénile à droite, les cheveux longs, une large cravate au cou. Revers: Ecu couronné, tenu par deux lions, orné du bijou de la Toison d'or. Rare. Griffes. Les champs repolis. Beau à Très Beau (duchy of Brabant, Charles II (1665-1700), silver ducaton of 1683, Brussels mint, second type. Obverse: juvenile bust to right, with long hair and large cravat; reverse: crowned arms, supported by two lions, adorned with the jewels of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Rare, scratches, tooling in fields, fine to very fine.)"

This type was struck 1682-84 at Brussels and Antwerp and is one of the keys of Spanish Netherlands coinage, even in low grade such as the specimen shown. The second specimen was lot 6407 in CNG Triton XXVIII (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $1,837.50. The catalog description[2] noted,

"LOW COUNTRIES, Spanish Netherlands. Karel II. 1665-1700. AR Dukaton. Bruxelles (Brussels) in Brabant mint; mm: head. Dated 1683. Cuirassed and draped bust right / Crowned coat-of-arms within leonine supporters; vuurijzer below. Toned, sea-salvaged. VF. From the Drewry Family Collection. Ex Ponterio 26 (14 December 1986), lot 1264; 1724 Slot ter Hooge Wreck.

The Slot ter Hooge was a Dutch East Indiamen sailing from the Netherlands to Batavia, modern Jakarta, Indonesia, loaded with three tons of silver ingots and four chests of coins. On the night of 19 November 1724, the vessel encountered a severe gale off the coast of Portugal and, though the crew struggled mightily, she was dashed upon the rocks of the island of Porto Santo, near Madiera. Of the 254 men aboard, only 33 survived.

The powerful Dutch East India Company was not content to simply let tons of silver lie at the bottom of the ocean. Immediately after the wreck, guards were posted on the shore near the site to prevent looting, and the Bishop of Madeira threatened excommunication to anyone caught attempting to salvage. Over the next ten years, the English inventor John Lethbridge was contracted to dive the wreck. Using his “diving machine,” an airtight barrel with leather sleeves for his arms, the inventor was able to recover 90% of the treasure for the Company by 1734.

After this initial operation, the location of the Slot ter Hooge was lost. Beginning in 1967, Robert Sténuit and his organization, the Group de Recherche Archéologique Sous-Marine Post Médiévale, researched and documented European various shipwrecks. The Slot was a wreck of personal interest to Sténuit, but archival research came up blank – the records were lost, destroyed, or otherwise inaccessible among the millions of uncatalogued documents. Yet he was able to discover one important clue – a silver tankard once belonging to Lethbridge himself, engraved with a depiction of his diving machine and a map of Porto Santo. This information was enough to lead Sténuit directly to the wreck site and, in the spring of 1974, the Slot ter Hooge was rediscovered, a mere three minutes into his first dive."

Reported Mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, the first specimen 30.95 g, the second specimen 44 mm diameter, 31.69 g, 1 h axis..

Catalog reference: G.H., 348-2b; Delm-332; W., 1074; KM 103.2, Dav-4481.

Source:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 118, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2013.
  • [2]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXVIII, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2024.

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