Transylvania 1611-CIBIN 10 ducats Fr-328
This specimen was lot 30491 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $216,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Virtually Mint State and Exceedingly Rare Transylvania 10 Ducat. Gabriel Bathory gold 10 Ducat 1611-CIBIN AU58 NGC, Hermannstadt mint. Struck with the same dies that were employed in the striking of the talers of the same date (cf. Dav-4704), in a diameter apparently somewhat smaller than the typical Transylvanian talers of the contemporary series. While we can say that this piece is not unique, for there is an example plated in Friedberg bearing signs of wear and minor graffiti, it is doubtlessly accurate that the type is exceptionally rare. This offering represents the first and only example that we have seen, with no others apparently listed in auction records from the last 20 years. Given the condition of this representative, lustrous with mint gleam and hardly any evidence of circulation at all, it is quite possible that this specimen ranks as the finest survivor of its type. Accordingly, we don't doubt that it will be met by highly competitive bidding as it crosses the auction block. A miraculous survivor by all measures, and a coin destined for a truly elite type collection of Transylvanian or European gold. From the Paramount Collection."
This type was struck 1611-13, unusual for a Transylvanian issue, which are mostly one year types.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 35 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 34.66 g.
Catalog reference: KM 86 (Rare), Fr-328, Horsky-Unl., Resch-106.
- 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.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
- [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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