Parma 1604 2 ducatone Dav-4114
This specimen was lot 531 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €10,000 (about US$12,973 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIEN, PARMA, Ranuccio Farnese I. 1592-1622. 2 Ducatoni 1604. 63.40 g. * RAIN * FARN * PAR * ET * PLAC * DVX * IIII Geharnischtes Brustbild l. mit umgelegtem Mantel//· QVESITAM . - · * · * · * · - . MERITIS · Mars und Pallas stehen einander gegenüber und halten eine Krone über drei Lilien, im Abschnitt L · I604 · S (LS= Lelio Scajoli, Münzmeister in Parma 1580-1604). Von großer Seltenheit. Attraktives Exemplar, sehr schön +. (Italy, duchy of Parma, Ranuccio Farnese, 1592-1622, double ducatone of 1604. Obverse: armored and mantled bust left; reverse: Mars and Pallas stand together and hold a crown over three lilies, date in exergue. Extremely rare, attractive example, choice very fine.)
Ranuccio I. Farnese, *28. März 1569, †5. März 1622, war der Sohn des spanischen Heerführers Alessandro Farnese, Herzog von Parma und Piacenza. Mit dem Tod seines Vaters am 3. Dezember 1592 erbte er dessen Herzogtümer, ließ jedoch weiterhin Münzen mit dessen Namen und Porträt prägen. Erst ab 1599 prägte Ranuccio ausschließlich in eigenem Namen. (Ranuccio I. Farnese, 1569-1622, was the son of the Spanish military leader Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. With the death of his father on December 3, 1592, he inherited his duchies, but continued to have coins minted with his father's name and portrait. It was not until 1599 that Ranuccio minted exclusively in his own name.)"
This rare type was struck again 1614-17. It accompanied a single ducatone (Dav-4115), struck 1603-07, 1614-17 and 1624, which is nearly as rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: Dav-4114; Varesi 983/1 (R3).
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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