Silesia 1670-SHS 10 ducats Fr-258a

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Heritage sale 3096, lot 30117
H3096-30117r.jpg

This specimen was lot 30117 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $50,400. The catalog description[1] noted,

"Seemingly Unpublished Breslau 10 Ducat of 1670. Austria - Leopold I gold 10 Ducat 1670-SHS XF Details (Removed From Jewelry) NGC, Breslau mint, Salomon Hammerschmidt as wardein. A type within the Austrian-Silesian series that remains essentially unsurpassed in status. This 10 Ducat issue is, by all indications, the largest gold denomination minted under Salomon Hammerschmidt's tenure as wardein of Breslau mint, the next highest being an unpublished 3 Ducat. Entirely unrecorded in standard literature, the only reference to 10 Ducat pieces produced under Leopold in Breslau comes from Friedberg, who cites the dates 1663, 1674, and 1695, none of which appear in the Corpus Nummorum Austriacorum. Our research has revealed that an example from 1663 is the only date to reach the marketplace in recent years--though Friedberg mentions an example (date unspecified) coming to light in the 2008 New York Sale. This carried the initials of wardein Georg Hübner and was of a very distinctive style compared to the coin presented here. Additionally, these dies do not seem to match any known taler issues. According to records of the Deutsches Münzpreis-Jahrbuch, no 10 Ducats of this date have appeared in auction since at least the late 90s. Despite some mild damage from its use in jewelry and clear circulation wear, the devices appear of a carefully measured style, with Leopold's bust taking on a much more humanistic appearance than that of the more heavily caricatured style seen on contemporary emissions. Almost certainly unique, we can think of few entries in the series that should command as much attention. From the Paramount Collection."

This gold piece was struck using dies intended for the 1670-74 thaler (KM 483.3/Dav-3291). Breslau is noted as having struck five ducats (Fr-263), four ducats (Fr-268), two ducats (Fr-271), single ducats (Fr-277), half ducats (Fr-284), third ducats (Fr-288), quarter ducats (Fr-290), sixth ducats (Fr-296), eighth ducats (Fr-298) and twelfth ducats (Fr-300) but Fr-296 is the only one mentioned for 1670.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 35 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 34.47 g.

Catalog reference: KM-Unl., Fr-258a (unlisted date), Horsky-Unl., Julius-Unl., Saurma-Jeltsch-Unl., F&S-Unl., CNA-Unl.

Source:

  • Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
  • 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.
  • [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.

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