Cologne 1742-IK ducat Fr-833
This specimen was lot 2166 in Sincona sale 77 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 7,000 CHF (about US$8,497 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"GERMANY | Köln, Erzbistum. Clemens August von Bayern, 1723-1761. Dukat 1742, Bonn. Sehr selten. Vorzüglich-FDC. Kleiner Randfehler. (Germany, archbishopric of Cologne, Clement Augustus of Bavaria, 1723-61, ducat of 1742, Bonn mint. Very rare, Extremely fine-uncirculated, Minor edge flaw.)"
This rare type was struck in 1742 and 1744. Both the city and the archbishopric were mediatized in 1801 and handed to the French Republic and later Napoleon's empire. At the Congress of Vienna, the city became part of the Prussian Rhineland. The archbishopric issued many coins in the Middle Ages but its importance declined thereafter. Clemens August was a committed pluralist, being simultaneously archbishop of Cologne and bishop of Paderborn, Munster, Hildesheim and Osnabrück and grandmaster of the Teutonic Order. The revenues from all of these states were needed to support his lavish building projects.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.50 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.51 g.
Catalog reference: KM 140, Noss 715. Fr-833.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 77, World Coins and Medals, Bullion Auction, Coins and Medals of Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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