Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp 1711-BH 1/4 ducat Fr-3087
This specimen was lot 4064 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabrück, March 2024), where it sold for €700 (about US$919 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HOLSTEIN-GOTTORP, HERZOGTUM, Karl Friedrich, 1702-1739. 1/4 Dukat 1711, Tönning. Mit vierblättriger Rosette unter dem Brustbild. GOLD. Min. gewellt, fast vorzüglich. Exemplar der Christensen Collection und der Auktion Adolph Hess AG 245, Luzern 1976, Nr. 793. (duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, Charles Frederick, 1702-39, quarter ducat of 1711, Tönning mint, with a four-petalled rosette under the bust. Slightly bent, about extremely fine.)"
This type also comes without the rosette under the bust (KM 207). The dynastic affairs of this duchy are complicated even by German standards as the dukes were related to the king of Denmark and even the czar of Russia. This rare type was struck 1712 only but another ducat of 1712 (KM 203/Fr-3092) is recorded with only three known. Wikipedia comments,
"Charles Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (30 April 1700 – 18 June 1739) was a Prince of Sweden and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and an important member of European royalty. His dynasty, the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, were a cadet branch of the ancient House of Oldenburg, which at that time was ruling Denmark-Norway. His mother was a sister of Charles XII of Sweden. Charles Frederick married a daughter of Peter the Great and became the father of the future Peter III of Russia. As such, he is the progenitor of the Russian imperial house of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov and the patrilineal ancestor of all Russian emperors starting with Peter III, except for Catherine II."
The duke (or rather, his regent) sided with Sweden during the Great Northern War and saw his domain ravaged and occupied by the Danes. Fleeing to Sweden, he was a claimant to that throne on the death of Charles XII in 1718 but lost out to Ulrika Eleonora. He moved to Russia, marrying a Russian princess and becoming the father of tsar Peter III.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.875 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 0.85 g.
Catalog reference: KM 208 (with rosette), Fr-3087; Lange 452.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- 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.
- Siegs Møntcatalog 2016: Danmark med Omrader, 48 ed., Frederikssund, Siegs Forlag ApS, 2015.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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