Hamburg 1497 ducat Fr-1100
The first specimen was lot 4022 in Goldberg sale 41 (Beverly Hills, May 2007), where it sold for $2,128. The catalog description[1] noted, "Hamburg. Ducat, 1497. Obv. Madonna and child within oval, city shield at bottom. Leg: *MONETA.N-O: HAMBVRG: Reverse: Madonna and child in oval. Leg: oAVE.PLEN; GRACIA. 1497. Pre-1500 date coins are rare. Original mint fresh luster is extraordinary. NGC graded MS-63. So few gold coins are dated before 1500, and so few of those would ever grade MS 63. This is a very special coin." The second specimen was lot 146 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €480 (about US$620 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"Hamburg, STADT Dukat 1497. GOLD. Min. gewellt, sehr schön. (Germany, city of Hamburg, ducat of 1497. Slightly wavy, very fine.)"
The third specimen was lot 903 in CNG Triton XXVIII (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $4,287.50. The catalog description[3] noted, "GERMANY, Hamburg (Free & Hanseatic City). AV Dukat. Dated 1494 [sic]. Half-length figure of Madonna right, holding infant Christ, over coat-of-arms; all within mandorla / Madonna standing right, holding infant Christ; all within mandorla. In PCGS encapsulation 83400009, graded MS 62. From the Robert Levinson Collection." The third specimen is dated 1497 like the other two.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, the first specimen 3.48 grams, 23.22 mm diameter; the second specimen 3.56 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-1100; Gaed. 82; Levinson I-362 a.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, and Larry Goldberg, Goldberg Sale 41: the Pre-Long Beach Sale, Beverly Hills: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2007.
- [2]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
- 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.
- Levinson, Robert, The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500: An Illustrated Catalogue and Guide to dated medieval coinage. Clifton, NJ: Coin & Currency Institute, 2007.
- [3]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXVIII, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2024.
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