Muri 1720 5 ducats Fr-332
This specimen was lot 1148 in Sincona Auction 100 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 42,000 CHF (about US$63,303 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SCHWEIZ Aargau, Muri, Abtei Placidus Zurlauben, 1684-1723. 5 Dukaten 1720, Auf das goldene Priesterjubiläum. Stempel von H. J. Gessner. Brustbild mit Kalotte nach rechts. PLACIVDUS.ABB.MVR.S.R.I.PRINCEPS. Rv. Ansicht der Abtei aus der Vogelperspektive. Darunter die durch das ovale, fünffeldige Stifts- und Familienwappen geteilte Jahreszahl MDC - CXX. IVBIL(AE)VS.(AE)T.LXXIV.REGIM.XXXVI.I Glatter Rand. Von grösster Seltenheit. Gutes vorzüglich. (Switzerland, canton of Aargau, abbey of Muri, Placidus Zurlauben, 1684-1723, five ducats of 170, on the anniversary of his ordination. Obverse: robed bust right; reverse: bird's eye view of the abbey; in the exergue, the manifold arms of the abbey and family divide the date. Plain edge, Of the highest rarity, About Uncirculated.)"
The SCWC and Friedberg list only two coins from this locale, this five ducats and a single ducat (Fr-333). The abbey was secularized in 1802. Off metal strikes are known in silver.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 17.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 17.31 g.
Catalog reference: KM 6, D.T. 966, HMZ 2-11a, Fr-332.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Richter, Jürg, and Ruedi Kunzmann, Neuer HMZ-Katalog, Band 2: Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins 15//16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart, Regenstauf, Germany: H. Gietl Verlag GmbH, 2006.
- [1]Richter, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 100: SINCONA Jubilee Auction, Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
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