Mantua (1637-47) ducatone Dav-3961
This specimen was lot 33747 in Heritage sale 3114 (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $1,920. The lot description[1] noted, "Italy: Mantua. Carlo II Ducatone ND (1637-1647) AU Details (Graffiti) NGC, Mantua mint. A lesser-encountered type from the Mantua series, continuously celebrated for its stylization and rarity. The graffiti to the surfaces is most unfortunate given the exemplary eye-appeal of the planchet otherwise. The design, though slightly worn at the highpoints, lends itself to a certain Baroque sensibility, an animated character amplified by the technicolor patina of olive, azure, and warm honey hues. The only example on the NGC census across both straight-graded and details tiers, a lot that is certain to be on the radar of early Italian collectors." Charles II was a member of the Nevers branch of the Gonzaga family and ruled Mantua 1637-65, the first ten years being under the regency of his mother, also depicted here. His son, Ferdinand Charles (r. 1665-1708), was the last independent duke, the duchy becoming a Hapsburg domain. The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628-31) devastated the region, and Charles's coinage is scanty.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, 42-43 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 157, Dav-3961.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2024 January 16 - 18 NYINC World Coins Signature Auction #3114, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2023.
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