Brandenburg 1643-DK ducat Fr-2254
This specimen was lot 31142 in Heritage sale 3089 (Dallas, TX, January 2021), where it sold for $18,000. The catalog description[1] noted, "Germany. Brandenburg-Prussia. Friedrich Wilhelm gold Ducat 1643-DK AU53 NGC, Königsberg (Królewiec) mint. FRID • WILH • D • G • MAR • BRA • S • R • I • ARC • E • EL •, bust of Friedrich Wilhelm 3/4 facing / • MONE: NOVA AUREA DUCIS PRUSSIAE, arms surmounted by the electoral cap; 16-43 across fields. An extremely rare ducat produced during the reign of the "Great Elector" who helped found the Hohenzollern dynasty, and the only recorded ducat from the mint of Königsberg (modern-day Kaliningrad) to feature a facing portrait. Though admittedly minorly bent, the coin presents an admirable portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm, virtually the whole of the stamp captured by virtue of the coin's slightly oversized, irregular flan, allowing for full appreciation of the design. Reportedly the only known example in private hands, the last auction appearance of the type occurred as part of M. Frankiewicz's collection in 1930, a piece which is believed to have been lost during the Second World War." Another ducat (KM 214) was struck in Berlin in 1643. Frederick WIlliam spent the first years of his reign in Königsberg, hiding out from the Thirty Years War.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 215, Fr-2254, Marienburg-1558.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage Auction 3089: NYINC World & Ancient Coins Platinum & Signature Auction - Dallas, featuring the Cape Coral Collection of European Crowns and the Penn Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2020.
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