Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle 1638-HS ducat Fr-547
This specimen was lot 2403 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €8,500 (about US$11,694 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRAUNSCHWEIG-LÜNEBURG-CELLE, FÜRSTENTUM Friedrich, 1636-1648. Dukat 1638, Clausthal. Stehender Herzog mit Schwert halbr.//Gekröntes, elffeldiges Wappen. GOLD. Von größter Seltenheit. Kl. Randfehler und Kratzer, fast Stempelglanz. (duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle, Frederick, 1636-48, ducat of 1638, Clausthal mint. Obverse: standing duke with sword half right; reverse: crowned manifold arms. Extremely rare, light edge defect and scratches, about uncirculated.)"
Frederick was also co-adjutor of the bishopric of Ratzeburg but died childless, aged 74 years. He was succeeded by his cousin Christian Louis, previously duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenburg. The date and mintmaster's initials ("1638 HS") are enmeshed in the tines of the crown. This type was struck again in 1641.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3,41 g.
Catalog reference: KM 150, Fr-547; Welter 1391.
- 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.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 439: Gold Coins from around the world, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Malta and Saxony | German Coins after 1871 including Coins from the Collection of Jürgen and Erika Schmidt, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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