Sweden 1796-OL ducat Fr-78
This specimen was lot 1272 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €31,200 (about US$34,576 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Handsome Choice Ducat Struck with Gold from the Ädelfors Mine, SWEDEN. Ducat, 1796. Stockholm Mint. Gustav IV Adolf. NGC MS-63. Mintmaster Olof Lidijn (OL). Engraver: Carl Gustav Fehrman. Minted from gold from the Ädelfors mine in the province of Småland. A piece that is wholly Choice and worthy of much adulation, this Ducat is brightly lustered, with a glowing sheen that charms and appeals. Some slight peripheral weakness is noted, with an area of flatness near 9 o'clock on the obverse rims. A most beautiful example with only a handful known in private collections. Ex: Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private Sale - 1922)."
This rare variant of the regular ducat (Fr-76) has the arms of Småland added below the royal arms on the reverse. It was struck 1796 only.
Recorded mintage: 1,200 plus 2,800 of Fr-76.
Specification: 3.51 g, 0.976 fine gold, 23.2 mm diameter, this specimen 3.46 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-78; KM-546; SM-5(5); SG-20; Hagander-540; Bruun auction-2108; Bruun-13181.
- Bjorne Ahlström, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokforlaget AB, 1976.
- Delzanno, Roberto, Myntårsboken 2022, Sveriges Mynt 995-2021, 1:a upplagen, Stockholm, 2021.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio, Jeremy Bostwick and Henrik Holt Christensen, The L. E. Bruun Collection - A Corpus of Scandinavian Monetary History Part I, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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