Denmark 1746-A 2 ducats Fr-263

Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection, lot 1144

This specimen was lot 1144 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €45,600 (about US$50,534 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Glorious 1746-A Double Ducat Displaying an Intricate Reverse of Fort Christiansborg, Unique in Private Collections, DENMARK. 2 Ducats, 1746. Copenhagen Mint. Frederik V. NGC MS-64. Mintmaster: I. M. Wineke. Engraver: Magnus Gustavus Arbien (A). One of only two traced examples, with the other one being in the National Museum of Denmark. The elegantly composed reverse very unusually bears a legend in Danish instead of Latin, as "FRA CHRISTIANSBORG" means "From Christiansborg" i. e. referring to a scene from the harbor facing the fortress of Christiansborg on the cost of Guinea and reflected in the intricately detailed depiction of a ship leaving the fort. All considered, this near-Gem can certainly claim a position amongst the loftiest of European Ducats, being finely engraved and meticulously struck. Ex: Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private Sale - 1922). Ex: Peter v. Hemmert (Copenhagen - 2/1807) Lot # 281."

Wikipedia comments,

"While Denmark's trading posts in India were of little note, it played an important role in the highly lucrative Atlantic slave trade, through its trading outposts in Fort Christiansborg in Osu, Ghana through which 1.5 million slaves were traded. While the Danish colonial empire was sustained by trade with other major powers, and plantations – ultimately a lack of resources led to its stagnation."

Frederik V was an alcoholic and a libertine popular because of his pacific foreign policy and his rejection of the dull Pietism of his father, Christian VI. The year of his accession saw the issue of five different ducats (Fr-252, Fr-254, Fr-256, Fr-258, Fr-264) and four different double ducats (Fr-251, Fr-253, Fr-257, Fr-263, shown here).

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 6.98 g, 0.979 fine gold, this specimen 6.96 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-263; KM-558; Hede-8; Sieg-29; Schou-6; Bruun-7606.

Source:

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.
Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
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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Denmark 1746-A 2 ducats Fr-263

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