Poland 1786-EB ducat Fr-104
This specimen was lot 1198 in Künker Auction 425 (Osnabrück, July 2025), where it sold for €7,000 (about US$9,912 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"EUROPÄISCHE MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN · POLEN, KÖNIGREICH Stanislaus August, 1764-1795. Dukat 1786 E-B, Warschau. GOLD. RR Leicht gewellt, sehr schön +. (kingdom of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus, 1764-95, ducat of 1786, Warsaw mint. Very rare, lightly bent, very fine or better.)"
The kingdom of Poland, weakened by the devastation of the Great Northern War (1700-21), fell under the domination of her neighbors, Prussia, Russia and Austria. Stanislaus Poniatowski, a former lover of Catherine the Great, was installed as her puppet king on the death of the Saxon August III. When he proved to be insufficiently pliant, the partitions began. In three slices, in 1772, 1793 and 1795, the entire state was devoured. Even then, Stanislaus could not rally the greedy and selfish Polish nobility to defend the country. This type was struck in small numbers 1784-86.
Recorded mintage: 5,797.
Specifications: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, .110 troy oz AGW, this specimen 3,47 g.
Catalog reference: KM 201, Fr-104; Kopicki 2526 (R3).
- 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.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 425: Gold coins from the Medieval and Modern Times, from the Mohr family collection, e.g. | Silver coins, e.g. highlights of medallic art | German coins after 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2025.
Links: