Hesse-Cassel 1683 2 ducats Fr-1268
This specimen was lot 4009 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €2,200 (about US$2,887 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HESSEN-KASSEL, LANDGRAFSCHAFT, Karl, 1670-1730, bis 1675 unter Vormundschaft seiner Mutter Hedwig Sophie von Brandenburg. 2 Dukaten 1683, auf den Tod seiner Schwester Elisabeth Henriette. Brustbild seiner Schwester r.//Krone über Postament mit Schrift, unten Totenkopf. GOLD. Von großer Seltenheit. Gestopftes Loch, leicht gewellt, sehr schön, Elisabeth Henriette *27.4.1661 †27.6.1683, heiratete am 13. August 1679 den Kurprinzen und späteren Kurfürsten Friedrich III. von Brandenburg. (landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, Charles, 1670-1730, under the regency of his mother until 1675, double ducat of 1683, for the death of his sister Elizabeth Henrietta. Obverse: bust if his sister right; reverse: crown above pedestal with inscription, skull below. Extremely rare, plugged, slightly wavy, very fine. Elizabeth (1661-83) married the crown prince (later elector Frederick III) of Brandenburg in 1679.)"
In addition to the death of his sister, the landgrave also suffered the death of his mother, Hedwig Sophie von Brandenburg, in 1683. That was also marked by a commemorative double ducat (KM 312).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.98 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 6,83 g.
Catalog reference: KM 313, Fr-1268; Hoffmeister 1417 var; Schütz 1178; Müller 22 E2.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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