Savoy (1482-90) ducat Fr-1028
This specimen was lot 20387 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (Newport Beach, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $15,600. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Sardinia. Ducat, ND (1482-90). Carlo I. NGC EF Details--Mount Removed. Obverse: Capped and armored bust right; Reverse: Coat-of-arms within polylobe. This INCREDIBLY RARE specimen--one of just two examples to sell publicly that this cataloger could locate--features an immensely pleasing renaissance-style bust as rendered in the Piedmont region. Some light cleaning and edge marks are noted from its time as a jewelry item, but it nevertheless remains an important numismatic specimen, and one which should absolutely be hotly contested. Compare to a similar specimen, seemingly free from the minor issues experienced here, which realized a hammer of over $56,000 [!] in May 2016." This type was struck by the duke of Savoy just prior to the French occupation of Milan. The French invasion of Italy was the beginning of the end of the Renaissance as the devastation of the resulting war terminated Italian prosperity.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-1028.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The January 2021 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Oro del Nuevo Mundo and Matt Orsini Collections, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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