Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle (1611-33) 20 ducats Fr-541
This specimen was lot 30218 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $336,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Stunning Unique 20 Ducat of Christian the Elder, Bishop of Minden. German States: Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle. Christian von Minden gold 20 Ducat ND (1611-1633) AU55 NGC, Winsen mint. Hans Heine as mintmaster. Struck from 1-1/2 Taler dies (cf. KM 249, Dav-LS125) without value stamp. In a word: astonishing. This presumably unique off-metal strike of Christian the Elder, Bishop of Minden's silver "rider" coinage, appears to have been missing from every major collection we have consulted: Knyphausen, Antoine-Feill, Vogel, Wilmersdörffer, Brand, Elbeshausen, Preussag, and Popken. Its purpose of production was very likely tied to the conflicts of the Thirty Years' War, during which time the Duke and Prince-Bishop had allied himself with the Habsburg Emperor, not converting to Protestantism until 1629. Struck from the same dies as lot number 122 in the Preussag Collection (a unique 2 Taler), this offering continues to preserve a great degree of originality throughout, showing no evidence of punctures, mounting, or edge damage, with overall wear remaining quite light. Although the Standard Catalog of World Coins tentatively dates the 1-1/2 Taler to 1622 and the 3 Taler to 1601, it is possible that the motto featured on the obverse, IUSTITIA ET CONCORDIA ("Justice and Concord"), places the minting of this issue sometime after 1625 when this legend first appeared on Christian's coinage (cf. Dav-LSA116). This might be tied to the occupation of his bishopric by imperial troops in 1623 (a situation he had endeavored to prevent), after which he resigned his position as Colonel of the Lower Saxon troops. Simply a singular opportunity, and one not to be missed by serious collectors of German gold multiples. Erroneously dated on the holder from 1599, as he assumed rule of Lüneburg in 1611. From the Paramount Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 70 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 59 mm diameter, 69.87 g.
Catalog reference: KM-Unl., Fr-541 (Unique; this coin), Knyphausen-Unl., Wilmersdörffer-Unl., Antoine-Feill Collection-Unl., Vogel Collection-Unl., Elbeshausen Collection-Unl., Preussag Collection-Unl (see lot 122, struck from the same dies), Welter-Unl. (cf. Welter-919 for 1-1/2 Taler).
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- 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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