Russia 1763-SP ducat Fr-133
This specimen was lot 1410 in Künker sale 352 (Osnabrück, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €10,000 (about US$13,917 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RUSSLAND, KAISERREICH, Katharina II. 1762-1796. Dukat 1763, St. Petersburg. Gekröntes Brustbild r. mit umgelegtem Mantel//Gekrönter Doppeladler mit Zepter und Reichsapfel in den Fängen, auf der Brust St. Georgsschild, umher die Kette des Andreasordens, oben Krone. GOLD. RR Gewellt, sehr schön. Erworben 1939 bei der Firma Helbing, München. (empire of Russia, Catherine II, 1762-96, ducat of 1763, St. Petersburg mint. Obverse: crowned and mantled bust; reverse: crowned double headed eagle with scepter and orb in its claws, bearing a shield with St. George spearing the dragon, the order of St. Andrew around. Rare, bent, very fine. Bought from Helbing in 1939.)"
The regime made several attempts to issue ducats in the eighteenth century, none with much success. This one year type is rare. In the nineteenth century, the regime made millions of counterfeit Dutch ducats, a practice which ended only in the 1840's when the Dutch government protested.
Recorded mintage: 50,000, very rare.
Specification: 3.47 g, 0.979 fine gold, this specimen 3.39 g.
Catalog reference: KM C80, Bitkin 103 (R1); Diakov 17 (R2); Fr-133.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Bitkin, Vladimir, Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins, Part II (1740-1917), Kiev: Moneta, 2003.
- Harris, Robert P., Guidebook of Russian Coins, 1725 to 1970, Santa Cruz, CA: Bonanza Press, 1971.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Künker Auktion 352: Die Sammlung Hermann Schwarz: Faszination des gepragten Goldes. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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