Julich-Berg (1)650 ducat Fr-1391
This specimen was lot 1528 in Künker Auction 425 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,531 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DEUTSCHE MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN · JÜLICH-BERG, HERZOGTUM Wolfgang Wilhelm, 1624-1653. Dukat 1650, Düsseldorf. GOLD. RR Leicht gewellt, vorzüglich. (Germany, duchy of Jülich-Berg, Wolfgang William, 1624-53, ducat of 1650, Düsseldorf mint. Very rare, slighlty wavy, extremely fine.)"
This rare type was struck in 1636, 1643 and 1650. We don't know why the duke used a three digit date. Wikipedia comments, "Wolfgang Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (1578-1653) was...Count Palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich and Berg....Because he converted to Catholicism and practiced a strict policy of neutrality in the Thirty Years' War, his territories escaped widespread destruction." The duchy of Cleves and the county of Mark, formerly joined to Jülich-Berg, went to the elector of Brandenburg in 1614. Finally, in the eighteenth century, Jülich, Berg and the Palatinate were merged with the electorate of Bavaria.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3,44 g.
Catalog reference: KM 17, Fr-1391; Noss 640.
- 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 425: Gold coins from the Medieval and Modern Times, from the Mohr family collection, e.g. | Silver coins, e.g. highlights of medallic art | German coins after 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
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