Netherlands 1810 20 gulden Fr-320
The first specimen was lot 2828 in Sincona sale 77 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 35,000 CHF (about US$42,483 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"THE NETHERLANDS | Kingdom of Holland. Lodewijk Napoleon, 1806-1810. 20 Gulden 1810, Utrecht. Münzzeichen Biene. Von grösster Seltenheit. NGC MS62. Überdurchschnittliche Erhaltung. (kingdom of Holland, Louis Napoleon, 1806-10, twenty gulden of 1810, Utrecht mint, privy mark bee. Of the highest rarity, Extraordinary condition, uncirculated.)"
The second specimen was lot 1313 in Sincona sale 76 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 38,000 CHF (about US$46,125 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"THE NETHERLANDS | Kingdom of Holland. Lodewijk Napoleon, 1806-1810. 20 Gulden 1810, Utrecht. Mit gravierter Randschrift: DE NAAM DES HEEREN ZY GELOOFD *. Äusserst selten. Fast FDC. NGC MS62. Prachtexemplar. (kingdom of Holland, Louis Napoleon, 1806-10, twenty gulden of 1810, Utrecht mint, lettered edge. Extremely rare, About uncirculated, Cabinet piece.)"
This type was struck 1808 and 1810 but both dates are rare. The portrait is of Louis Napoleon, Napoleon's brother, installed on the throne in hopes that his regime would enforce Napoleon's trade restrictions. Louis quickly came to side with the Dutch attitude towards smuggling and he was evicted in 1810 and the country annexed to France. A variety of coins were issued during his rule, ten and fifty stuivers, rijksdaalders, florins, guldens and ducats. When the kingdom of the Netherlands was reconstituted in 1815 under the prince of Orange, the coinage was reformed with the gulden as the base unit. When the twenty gulden was reintroduced in 1848, it was 13.46 g, 0.900 fine gold.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.67 g, 0.917 fine gold, lettered edge; the second specimen 13.66 g.
Catalog reference: KM 34, Schulman 125. Schl. 57. Fr-320.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Peters, T., J. Scheper and J. Mevius, Muntalmanak 2018, 35e editie, Amsterdam: Nederlandse vereniging van munthandelaren, 2017.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 77, World Coins and Medals, Bullion Auction, Coins and Medals of Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
- [2]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 76, The Annemarie and Gerd Köhlmoos Collection, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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