Transylvania 1585 ducat Fr-295
This specimen was lot 4161 in Goldberg sale 41 (Beverly Hills, May 2007), where it did not sell. The catalog description[2] noted, "Transylvania. Ducat, 1585. Hermannstadt mint. Sigismund Bathori, 1581-1602. St. Ladislas standing with halberd in right hand and orb and cross in left hand, breaking beaded inner circle at top and bottom. Leg: MONE.TRAN - IL- SIGI.B.D:S and 1585 in field. Reverse: Seated madonna and child. Leg: *PATRONA (crowned cross swords) UNGARIE*. Superb early ducat and rare. NGC graded MS-63. Transylvania, a staunchly Protestant state, was able to maintain its independence by playing off the Turks against the Habsburgs. This independence effectively ended in 1697 after Michael Apafi II was forced to abdicate. After a fifteen year struggle for power, Transylvania reverted back to The Emperor." The princes of Transylvania were sandwiched between the Ottoman Empire to the south and the Hapsburg dominions to the west and attempted to maintain independence from both. The Hapsburgs reconquered Hungary from the Turks in the 1680's and ended Transylvanian autonomy.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, .110 troy oz AGW; the specimen was 3.52 grams. 22.9 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Fr-295; Resch-13; Hess-165.
- 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.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
- [2]Goldberg, Ira, and Larry Goldberg, Goldberg Sale 41: the Pre-Long Beach Sale, Beverly Hills: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2007.
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