Breslau 1748 5 ducats Fr-529
This specimen was lot 30211 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $26,400. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Perhaps Only the Third Known Example of this Commemorative Issue. German States: Breslau. Philipp Gotthard von Schaffsgotsch gold 5 Ducat (1/2 Portugalöser) 1748 AU Details (Obverse Cleaned) NGC, Neisse or Vienna mint(?). A type as distinctive as it is rare, presenting a unique portrait style for the Prince-Bishop, known only from his ducat, 4 ducat, and 5 ducat of 1748. Produced in a distinctively different manner than the engraving from the portraiture of Ignaz Donner at Vienna--whose ducat coinage of Philipp Gotthard is much more plentiful--his features here appear noticeably "unfinished" and cruder nature, with emphasis drawn to his protruding nose, downplaying the character of the remainder of the face. Interestingly, the Standard Catalog of World Coins provides no indication of who cut dies for Breslau's coinage of this period in its list of mint officials, though Jaromir Indra has pointed out that J. F. Joachim, in his 1761 Das neu eröffnete Münzcabinet, suggested that they were the work of Wraclow medallist Johann Gottfried Held. However, he further underlines Joachim's general unreliability. It is highly likely that this particular series was struck upon the death of Philipp Gotthard's coadjutor Philipp Ludwig von Sinzendorf and the confirmation of his appointment as Prince-Bishop by Pope Benedict XIV on 5 March 1748, despite disagreements between the Pope and Gotthard on the position of Freemasonry. Such a special commemorative occasion could certainly help explain the paucity of known survivors. Indra reported only a single example, residing in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, in his 2003 article on the coinage of Philipp Gotthard. To that, we may add the piece plated by Friedensburg and Seger--poorly photographed, though with a distinctive mark on the reverse (current whereabouts unknown)--along with the present example, which may very well be the only representative in private hands. As such, this coin can certainly be counted among the rarest emissions of the bishopric, and is of undoubted desirability, even with the noted minor cleaning. From the Paramount Collection."
Silesia was wrested from Austria by Frederick the Great of Prussia during the Seven Years War and remained Prussian territory until the end of World War One. The bishop fled his see and resided in Vienna, where this ducat was made.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 17.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 17.28 g.
Catalog reference: KM 223 (Rare), Fr-529 (Very Rare), Saurma-Jeltsch-235, Plate XVI, 93, F&S-2776, Indra, "Mincování niského knížete a vratislavského biskupa Filipa Gottharda Schaffgotsche v letech 1748-1777 v Cukmantlu, Vídni a v Praze" (Numisatické listy 18, 2003), pg. 46, 1.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
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