Hesse 1893-A 10 mark
The first specimen was lot 3872 in Künker sale 264 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €1,700 (about US$2,196 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HESSEN Ernst Ludwig, 1892-1918. 10 Mark 1893. Sehr schön-vorzüglich. (grand duchy of Hesse, Ernest Louis, 1892-1918, ten mark of 1893, very fine to extremely fine.)"
The second specimen was lot 30035 in Heritage sale 3041 (Chicago, August 2015), where it sold for $11,162.50. The catalog description[2] noted, "A Uniquely Toned and Vividly Contrasted Proof of Ernst Ludwig. Hesse-Darmstadt. Ernst Ludwig gold Proof 10 Mark 1893-A PR64 Ultra Cameo NGC, Berlin mint, One-year type. A radiant, partially toned example of this very elusive issue, with both the obverse and reverse exhibiting patches of orange-gold tone, while the "untoned" lighter gold areas hold light rainbow-colored iridescence. Impressively choice for the near-Gem grade, no surface-impeding marks of any kind are seen with or without a loupe's aid, and lighter-than-expected handling is present as well. Tied with one example at PCGS for the finest graded of the type, with the most recent proof sales record in any grade being the 7,250 Euros hammer price ($10,051 at the time) that was achieved by a slightly lesser example (PR64 Cameo by NGC) in a March 2014 Künker auction. From The Kaiser Collection of German Gold Coins." Of the two major divisions of Hesse, Hesse-Cassel chose the wrong side in the Austro-Prussian war and found herself annexed. Hesse-Darmstadt survived to become the Grand Duchy of plain Hesse. This ten mark was issued 1893 only and is rare.
Recorded mintage: 54,000 plus 450 proofs.
Specification: 3.98 g, 0.900 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 366, Jaeger-222, Fr-3796.
- Jaeger, Kurt, Die Deutschen Münzen seit 1871, Basel: Münzen und Medaillen AG, 1982.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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 Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 264, Gold coins | Russian Coins and Medals | German Coins after 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
- [2]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World & Ancient Coins Auction 3041, featuring the Eric Beckman Collection of Canadian Coins, the Kaiser Collection of German Gold Coins and the Rudman Collection of Mexican Coins, Part I, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
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