Denmark 1644 ducat Fr-39
This specimen was lot 1042 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €31,200 (about US$34,576 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Bright and Alluring Nearly Mint Ducat Featuring the Tetragrammaton, A Type Inspired by the King's Hand-Drawn Depiction, DENMARK. Ducat, 1644. Copenhagen Mint; Privy Mark: Poker. Christian IV. NGC AU-58. Mintmaster: Heinrich Köhler. Engraver: Hans zum Busch. This attractive Ducat delivers alluring details, and only the lightest touches of actual wear on the high design elements. Visually impressive and deserving the attention of many.
In the middle of the Torstenson War and possibly to invoke the help of God against the Swedes, king Christian personally sketched the coin design using the Tetragrammaton (the Hebrew four-letter-name of God) as a key element on silver and gold coins struck in Copenhagen, Christiania, and Glückstadt."
This type was struck 1644-48 along with a half ducat (Fr-40) 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: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.47 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-39; KM-141; Hede-33; Sieg-128.1; Schou-4: Aagaard TKG4; Bruun-5686.
- 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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