Mantua (1519-40) 2 ducat Fr-526
This specimen was lot 1029 in Jean Elsen sale 140 (Brussels, March 2019), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,197 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, MANTOUE, Frédéric II Gonzague (1519-1540), AV double ducat, s.d. D/ FEDERICVS II M MANTVAE T. à g. R/ FIDES Le mont Olympe au sommet duquel un autel. Extrêmement rare Beau portrait. Griffe au droit. Trou rebouché. Très Beau. (duchy of Mantua, Frederick II Gonzaga, 1519-40, undated gold double ducat. Obverse: head left; reverse: Mt. Olympus, temple at summit. Extremely rare, nice portrait, obverse scratch, edge tooled. Very Fine.)"
Federico II Gonzaga is generally remembered today for his patronage of Titian and Raphael, both of whom painted his portrait before he died of syphilis, aged 40 years. The Gonzaga family managed to hold onto some autonomy as dukes of Mantua until its extinction in 1707, when the duchy fell to the Austrians. This rare type was accompanied by a single ducat (Fr-527).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 7 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 6,79 g.
Catalog reference: CNI IV, 266, 3; Morosini 2; M.I.R. 442; Fr-526.
- 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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 140, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2019.
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