Salzburg 1776 1/2 ducat Fr-882
The first specimen was lot 30299 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2022), where it sold for $1,020. The catalog description[1] noted, "AUSTRIA. Salzburg. 1/2 Ducat, 1776. Hieronymus von Colloredo. PCGS MS-61. Featuring a bust of the archbishop, this glistening Mint State specimen dazzles with glistening brilliance and yellow gold nature throughout. No evidence of handling is observed, with clean, elegant surfaces throughout. From the Augustana Collection." The second specimen was lot 3215 in Künker sale 384 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €1,000 (about US$1,292 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[2] noted,
"Hieronymus von Colloredo, 1772-1803. 1/2 Dukat 1776. GOLD. RR Vorzüglich. (archbishopric of Salzburg, Hieronymus von Colloredo, 1772-1803, half ducat of 1776.)"
The Archbishop is most remembered as the first patron of Mozart but grew irritable when Mozart demanded better status than a mere employee. This type was struck 1776 only and is rather scarce. While previous archbishops had issued fractional ducats on a regular basis, von Colleredo did so only sporadically.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.75 g, 0.986 fine gold, the second specimen 1.75 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-882; KM-444; Probszt 2418; Zoettl-3173.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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.
- Helmut Zöttl, Salzburg Münzen und Medaillen, 1500-1810, 2 vols. Salzburg: Verlag Fruhwald, 2008.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 ANA Auction - Ancients & World Coins - Featuring The Salton Collection Part III, the Augustana Collection and the Robert C. Knepper Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
- [2]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 384: Münzen, Medaillen und Marken von Salzburg - Die Sammlung Professor Dr. Franz Schedel, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.
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