Strasbourg 1617 ducat Fr-235

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Jean Elsen sale 112, lot 1506
Strasburg 1617 ducat rev JElsen 112-1506.jpg
Alsace and Strasbourg in 1547

This specimen was lot 1506 in Jean Elsen sale 112 (Brussels, March 2012) where it sold for € 2,200 (about US$3,438 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,

"FRANCE, STRASBOURG, Ville, AV ducat, 1617, Klippe. Jubilé du centenaire de la Réforme. Droit : POST/ TENEBRAS/ LVX/ 1517 sous une fleur de lis. Revers : IV/BILAEVM/ ARGENTORA/TENSE/ 1617. Extrêmement Rare. presque Superbe." (City of Strasbourg, gold ducat of 1617, klippe, on the centennial of the Reformation. Obverse: "PST/TENEBRAS/LUX/1517" below a fleur-de-lys; reverse: "IV/BILAEVM/ ARGENTORA/TENSE/ 1617". Extremely rare, about extremely fine.)

Klippe ducats, originally invented as siege coinage, became popular in the seventeenth century as a format for commemorative issues. The SCWC does not mention this coin but notes a similar klippe thaler (KM 312.3, Dav-5846B), also very rare. At the time, the town was a free city in the Holy Roman Empire. Wikipedia[2] comments,

"The Free City of Strasbourg remained neutral during the Thirty Years' War. In September 1681 it was annexed by King Louis XIV of France, whose unprovoked annexation was recognized by the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The official policy of religious intolerance which drove many Protestants from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1598) by the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685) was not applied in Strasbourg and in Alsace. Strasbourg Cathedral, however, was restored from the Lutherans to the Catholics. The German Lutheran university persisted until the French Revolution. Famous students were Goethe and Herder."

Reported Mintage: unknown.

Specification: gold, this specimen 3.25 g.

Catalog reference: KM unlisted, B., -; Engel-Lehr, 613; Fr-235.

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.
  • [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 112, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2012.
  • [2]Wikipedia article on Strasbourg: [[1]]

Link to:

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