Salzburg 1594 25 ducats Fr-666

Heritage sale 3096, lot 30091

This specimen was lot 30091 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $288,000. The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Presumably Unique Salzburg "Tower" 25 Ducat. Austria - Salzburg. Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau gold 25 Ducat 1594 UNC Details (Obverse Graffiti) NGC. An absolutely stunning coin, due in part to its considerable size, but even more so for its artistic beauty. This issue is among the most coveted series in all of Austrian coinage, and though these "tower" gold multiples of Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau have often been reported as soldiers' pay, a piece of this weight could hardly have met that purpose pragmatically--its purchasing power alone far exceeding what was likely typical for even a top-ranking officer. The second-largest denomination confirmed from the Prince-Archbishop's reign by Zöttl (who also notes the existence of a 30 Ducat), this weight was entirely unrecorded by either Bernhart and Roll or Probszt, and was also missing from both Leo Hamburger's September 1921 Notable Collection of Salzburg Coins and Medals as well as Künker's September 2015 sale of the Numitor Collection (both of which only contained a 10 Ducat of this date). Appreciably medallic from all angles, both the fields and margins contain flashy, original luster. Graffiti in the form of the number 25 (Z5) is viewed across the obverse field, but is likely a contemporaneous inscription of the coin's impressive denomination. By all accounts a unique piece, and one set to shatter auction records for Salzburg gold multiples. From the Paramount Collection."

Wolf Dietrich ruled for 25 years (1687-1612) and issued a large number of gold coins. This series of 1594 included 25 ducats (shown here) down to eight ducats (Fr-674), some in klippe format. All are rare. The archbishopric was secularized in 1803 and passed to Austria in 1814.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 87.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 87.35 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-666 (Unique), BR-Unl., Probszt-Unl., Numitor Collection-Unl., Zöttl-820.

Source:

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.
Helmut Zöttl, Salzburg Münzen und Medaillen, 1500-1810, 2 vols. Salzburg: Verlag Fruhwald, 2008.
^[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.

Link to:

Salzburg 1594 25 ducats Fr-666

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