Lubeck 1688 ducat Fr-1507
This specimen was lot 167 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €19,000 (about US$24,649 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LÜBECK, BISTUM, August Friedrich, Herzog von Holstein-Gottorp, 1666-1705. Dukat 1688, Eutin. AVGVST . FRID . D . G . EL . EP . LUB . H · N · D · S · E · H Geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit Halstuch und umgelegtem Mantel//A · DEO · SORSQ · SALVSQ · MEA · 1688 . (Dreiblatt) Gekröntes, siebenfeldiges Wappen mit Mittelschild vor gekreuztem Krummstab und Schwert, umher Palmzweige. GOLD. Von allergrößter Seltenheit. Feine Goldpatina, leichte Prägeschwäche, sehr schön-vorzüglich. Wir konnten kein weiteres Auktionsvorkommen für diesen äußerst seltenen Dukaten ermitteln. (Germany, bishopric of Lubeck, Augustus Frederick, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, 1666-1705, ducat of 1688, Eutin mint. Obverse: armored and mantled bust with scarf; reverse: crowned seven-fold arms with escutcheon over a cross crozier and sword, palm branches around. Extremely rare, fine gold patina, slightly weakly struck, very fine to extremely fine. This is the first instance we can find of this ducat offered for auction.)
August Friedrich, *1646, war der Sohn des Herzogs Friedrich III. von Holstein-Gottorp. Er wurde am 6. Juni 1656 zum Koadjutor und 1666, nachdem Christian Albrecht verzichtet hatte, zum Bischof von Lübeck gewählt. 1686 vermählte er sich mit Christine, Tochter des Herzogs August von Sachsen-Weissenfels. Wegen seiner schwachen Gesundheit lebe er still und zurückgezogen in Eutin. Der Streit zwischen dem König von Dänemark und den Herzögen von Holstein berührte sein Land kaum. August Friedrich starb in der Nacht zum 2. Oktober 1705 in Eutin. (Germany, August Friedrich, born 1646, was the son of duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp. He was elected coadjutor on June 6, 1656 and, after Christian Albrecht had abdicated, elected Bishop of Lübeck in 1666. In 1686 he married Christine, daughter of Duke August of Saxe-Weissenfels. Because of his weak health, he lived quietly and withdrawn in Eutin. The dispute between the King of Denmark and the Dukes of Holstein hardly touched his domain. August Friedrich died in Eutin on the night of October 2, 1705.)"
The bishopric was founded in the tenth century and reestablished in the twelfth. The bishop was expelled from Lubeck, which had become a Hansa town, in 1309, and moved his seat to Eutin. In 1531, the city and the diocese went over to the Reformation and the bishop did not resist. In the seventeenth century, the bishop was also duke of Holstein-Gottorp and was Lutheran, not Catholic. The SCWC notes also a half ducat and a reissue in 1689.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 3.44 g.
Catalog reference: KM 67, Behrens 841; Lange 504 B; Fr-1507.
- 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 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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