Denmark 1644 1/2 ducat Fr-40
This specimen was lot 1043 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €19,200 (about US$21,278 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "Alluring Example of a One Year Variant, DENMARK. 1/2 Ducat, 1644. Copenhagen Mint; Privy Mark: Poker. Christian IV. NGC AU-58. Mintmaster: Heinrich Köhler. Engraver: Hans zum Busch. A beautiful orange hue makes the design particularly stand out on this one-year variant where the king has a flower between his legs." This type was struck 1644-46 along with a single ducat (Fr-39) and double ducat (Fr-38). Its original design has always attracted collector attention. Christian IV (r. 1588-1648) had a long but not particularly successful reign. Denmark lost the Torstenson War and had to cede Jämtland, Härjedalen, Idre, Särna, the Baltic Sea islands of Gotland and Ösel, and the province of Halland.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.74 g, 0.986 fine gold, 18 mm diameter, this specimen 1.80 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-40; KM-138; Hede-35; Sieg-124.1; Schou-6; Aagaard-TKG6; Bruun-5687.
- 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.
- Siegs Møntcatalog 2016: Danmark med Omrader, 48 ed., Frederikssund, Siegs Forlag ApS, 2015.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio, Jeremy Bostwick and Henrik Holt Christensen, The L. E. Bruun Collection - A Corpus of Scandinavian Monetary History Part I, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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