Ortenburg 1656 10 ducats Fr-563
This specimen was lot 30086 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $99,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Finest Certified Ortenburg 10 Ducat - The Krause and Friedberg Plate Coin. Austria - Ortenburg. Christopher Widmann gold 10 Ducat 1656 MS63 NGC, St. Veit mint. Hans Seel as mintmaster. Struck from Taler dies (cf. KM 3). A piece which instantly stuns on account of its brilliant mint luster that effortlessly cascades over the fields, the surfaces preserving choice originality, while the edges remain free of filing or a previous mount. Unsurprisingly, this is the single finest certified example to date, with just one other specimen graded AU58 at PCGS. It almost goes without saying that this offering needs to be viewed in hand to be fully appreciated, a fact clearly supported by its use as the plate coin in both the Standard Catalog of World Coins and Friedberg. For comparison, the last specimen to come to auction hammered for 46,000 Euros in February 2015. Ex. Leu Numismatik Auction 80 (May 2001, Lot 797). From the Paramount Collection."
Altho count Christopher Widmann is shown in a bishop's dress, Ortenburg was not an ecclesiastical state but a district of Carinthia permitted by the emperor to strike coins. Gold five ducats and a thaler (Dav-3397) exist struck from these dies.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 35 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 34.67 g.
Catalog reference: KM 5 (Rare; this coin), Fr-563 (Rare; this coin plated in the 8th ed.), cf. Montenuovo-2945 (5 Ducat), Trau Collection-Unl., Holzmair-99.
- 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.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3096, featuring the Paramount Collection of World & Ancient Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.
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