Cologne 1589 goldgulden Fr-760
This specimen was lot 1074 in Jean Elsen sale 161 (Brussels, March 2025), where it sold for €650 (about US$846 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ALLEMAGNE, COLOGNE, Ville, AV florin d'or, 1589. Au titre de Rodolphe II. D/ Écu de la ville dans un quadrilobe anglé, entre les écussons de Mayence, Trèves, Cologne et Bavière. R/ Aigle impériale éployée et couronnée. Rare. Fines griffes. (Germany, city of Cologne, gold florin of 1589, in the name of Rudolf II. Obverse: city arms in an angled quadrilobed between the shields of Mainz, Trier, Cologne and Bavaria; reverse: crowned imperial eagle. Rare, fine scratches, Very Fine.)"
This type was struck 1577, 1580-93, 1596-98 in small numbers by the city, not the archbishop.
Recorded mintage: 3,870.
Specification: 3.25 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen is 3,15 g.
Catalog reference: KM MB290, Noss 243; Fr-760.
- 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.
- Nicol, N. Douglas, Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 161, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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