Elbing 1657-NH ducat Fr-49
This specimen was lot 1251 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €102,000 (about US$113,037 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Stunning Ducat with Rich Luster From Elbing, SWEDEN. Elbing. Ducat, 1657. Karl X Gustav. NGC MS-64. Mintmaster: Nicholaus Henning (NH). Struck during the second seizing of the important Polish city Elbing on the Baltic coast between 1655-1660, this alluring Ducat stands at the boundary of Polish, Prussian and Swedish issues, appealing to all three groups of collectors. Of those examples that are easily traced through public auctions, we have been able to find only one other specimen that has traded twice. This example far surpasses that one with its bold luster and crisp details. The fabric of the piece is very similar to contemporary John Casimir Polish Ducats, with the slight die shift and reflectivity in the open fields. No mark of consequence are seen on the surfaces, and much die polish lines are present. A Ducat that is nearly all things: beautiful, historically important, and from a popular period. Ex: Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private Sale - 1922)."
Elbing in Baroque times was not part of the Baltic States, being in Poland. Swedish armies made several attempts to conquer Poland after the Thirty Years War and Elbing fell under Swedish occupation. This rare type of 1657-58 is not priced in the SCWC.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.46 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-49; KM-71; SB-46; SG-19; Kop-9682 (R8); not in Hagander; Bruun-12104.
- Bjorne Ahlstrom, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokforlaget AB, 1976.
- 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.
- [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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