Frankfurt (1612) 5 ducats Fr-954
This specimen was lot 40234 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2019), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Commemorating Matthias as Holy Roman Emperor, One of Two Known. GERMANY. Frankfurt. 5 Ducat, ND (1612). NGC VF Details--Graffiti. Obverse: Armored monarch charging on war horse, city view at right, exergue: "MATTHIAS. D:G: .IMP:RO."; Reverse: Imperial eagle in circle of arms of the seven temporal and spiritual Electors, each with an identifying initial. Struck on the election of Matthias as Holy Roman Emperor. A date, "16 - 35", has been lightly etched into the left and right obverse field, but actual wear is minimal, with marvelous artistry on display in the hair detail of Matthias' charging horse. A starkly modern-looking design makes this an unusually handsome coin. It is also a fabled RARITY, one of only two known to exist.
A member of the House of Habsburg, Matthias (1557-1619) was born in Vienna, the capital of Austria, to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. In his early 20s, Matthias was invited to the Netherlands, where he would accept the role of Governor-General within the provinces that were then under Spanish influence. Upon their declaration of independence in 1581, he returned home to Austria. In 1593, his brother Rudolf II, the residing Holy Roman Emperor, appointed Matthias to Governor of Austria. After he helped construct the Peace of Vienna treaty in 1606, which guaranteed religious freedom in Hungary, he was recognized as the head of the House of Habsburg, and the future Holy Roman Emperor. Seizing on his brother's illness, he became King of Hungary and Croatia in 1608. Several years later, in 1611, his brother ceded Bohemia to Matthias as well after he held him prisoner in his castle in Prague. Upon Rudolph II's death in 1612, Matthias finally became Holy Roman Emperor, with the coronation taking place on June 26, 1612 in the Imperial Free City of Frankfurt."
Friedberg lists one, 1½, two, three, five and ten ducats issued for this occasion, all rare. This example was offered again as lot 40349 in Stack's Bowers 2021 ANA sale, where it sold for $48,000.
Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.
Specification: 17.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 17.36 grams.
Catalog reference: Fr-954, KM 44.
- 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]Ponterio, Richard, Kyle Ponterio, Matt Orsini and Cris Chatigny, The January 2019 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2018.
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