Hungary 1696-CH ducat Fr-159
This specimen was lot 1184 in Sincona Auction 107 (Zürich, October 2026), where it sold for 34,000 CHF (about US$49,531 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RDR / ÖSTERREICH Leopold I. 1657-1705. Dukat 1696 CH, Pressburg. Der gekrönte Kaiser im Mantel mit gegürtetem Schwert steht nach rechts, geschultertes Zepter in der Rechten, Reichsapfel in der Linken. Rv. Die thronende Madonna mit Zepter und Christuskind im Strahlenkranz, darunter das ungarische Wappen. Äusserst selten. Vorzüglich. Erworben bei der Bank Leu in Zürich am 13.02.1957. (Holy Roman Empire, Leopold I, 1657-1705, ducat of 1696, Pressburg mint. Obverse: the crowned and mantled figure of the emperor stands right, with sword, scepter and orb; reverse: the enthroned Madonna and Child in a glory, the Hungarian arms below. Extremely rare, Extremely Fine.)"
This type was struck 1695, 1696 and 1699. Pressburg, then in Hungary and now the capital of Slovakia (as Bratislava), operated a mint for the Hapsburgs in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Kryštof Zikmund Hunger was mintmaster there 1695-1712. The mint closed permanently in 1721.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.43 g.
Catalog reference: KM 239, Huszar 1335. Herinek 401. Fr-159.
- 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]Richter, Jurg, Michael Hardmeier, Michael Otto, Arne Kirsch, Ruedi Kunzmann and Timur Demirai, SINCONA Auction 107: The Hugo von Ziegler-Schindler Collection of Numismatic Rarities, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2026.
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