Halberstadt 1622 2 ducat Fr-635
The bishopric of Halberstadt was founded in the early ninth century. In 1479, a Saxon prince, greedy for the see's revenues, pushed out the reigning bishop and appointed his teenage son as administrator. No bishop was anointed to succeed him and the diocese was ruled by administrators thru the Reformation, which arrived in 1540. Various princes of the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel family ruled 1566-1623, of which Christian was the last. The next administrator was a prince of the Hohenzollern family and the bishopric was annexed to Brandenburg by the terms of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. It remained a part of Prussia until the end of the Wilhelmine empire. This specimen was lot 20383 in Stack's Bowers ANA Auction (Denver, CO, August 2017), where it sold for $7,050. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMANY. Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. 2 Ducat, 1622. Christian of Halberstadt (1616-26). PCGS Genuine--Repaired, EF Details Secure Holder. EXTREMELY RARE, the last example that we know of to appear on the market was offered in the Schweizerischer Bankverein January, 1984. Arm protruding from clouds holding sword; Reverse: Inscription. Mount mark expertly removed from edge, good strike on a slightly wavy flan, delicate orange peel toning and quite attractive." We dispute Stack's listing under Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel; this is a Halberstadt issue. The bishop, Christian, was from Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel but never ruled as duke there. This rare issue was accompanied by a thaler (Dav-6320), a single ducat, and another double ducat.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 35, Welter-1375; Fiala-1809; Fr-635.
- 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 and Chris Chatigny, The August 2017 Denver ANA Auction: Ancients, Selections from The Richard Stuart Collection & World Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2017.
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