Denmark 1666-GK krone Fr-88

Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection, lot 1084

This specimen was lot 1084 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €90,000 (about US$99,738 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Exceptional Star Graded Gold Krone with Superb Eye Appeal, Struck upon King's Personal Direction, DENMARK. Gold Krone, 1666. Copenhagen Mint. Frederik III. NGC MS-64★. Mintmaster: Gotfred Krüger GK). Engraver: Jeremias Hercules. EXTREMELY RARE and of breathtaking quality with dazzling brilliance in the fields and subtle frosting on the devices -- quite frankly one of the most beautiful of all existing coins in gold minted for Frederik III. The exquisite portrait is one of the absolute best of Frederik III. Unfortunately the engraver is no longer known, and a theory that this Krone might be the work of a very young Anton Meybusch hardly seems plausible. Although the actual number of Gold Kroners minted is unknown, it is known from a preserved written instruction from the king to the mintmaster, Krüger, that the king alone decided how many were to be struck. Ex: Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private Sale - 1922). Ex: Peter v. Hemmert Collection (Copenhagen - 2/1807) Lot # 100."

This rare type is catalogued in the SCWC with a weight of 2.97 g and a double gold krone (KM 279) with a weight of 5.99 g, which is what we have here. Previous gold krone (see Fr-120) had a weight of around 6 g, which leads us to believe the auctioneers are correct in their description and the SCWC is wrong. It is also possible that the ever-impecunious king doubled the value of his gold coins.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 6 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 5.63 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-88; KM-278; Hede-44; Sieg-144; Schou-7; Aagaard-60.1; Bruun-6498.

Source:

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.

Links to:

Denmark 1666-GK krone Fr-88

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