Gelderland (1371-79) goldgulden Fr-41
This specimen was lot 5004 in Künker sale 354 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €2,000 (about US$2,784 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"NIEDERLANDE, OYEN, Maria von Brabant, 1361-1399. Goldgulden o. J. Hüftbild v. v. mit Schwert in gotischem Gehäuse//Zwei Wappenschilde nebeneinander, umher Sechspaß. GOLD. RR Etwas Belagreste, min. Probierspur am Rand, sehr schön +. (Netherlands, Oyen, Maria of Brabant, 1361-99, undated goldgulden. Obverse: half-length bust facing with sword under a Gothic dais; reverse: two conjoined arms in a hexalobe. Very rare, a little pitted, small mount mark on the edge, very fine or better.)"
Wikipedia comments,
"The First War of the Guelderian Succession was a battle for the throne of the Duchy of Guelders that raged between 1371 and 1379. The war originated when Duke Reginald III died without issue in 1371. His brother, Edward, who had been killed in the Battle of Baesweiler earlier that same year, also left no offspring. The claimants to the ducal throne were their half-sisters: Matilda, who was married to John II, Count of Blois, and Maria, wife of William II of Jülich and mother to William I of Guelders and Jülich, on whose behalf she claimed the throne of Guelders. The war lasted eight years, with Maria and her supporters emerging victorious, and Maria's son William becoming duke."
Maria left two gold coins, the florin shown here and an even rarer couronne d'or (Fr-42).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.25 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 3.36 g.
Catalog reference: Delm-245 (R3); Fr-41 (listed under Gelderland).
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 354: Munzen und Medaillen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. Braunschweig-Luneburg. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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