Transylvania 1650-NB ducat Fr-399
This specimen was lot 1097 in CNG Triton XXIX (New York, January 2026), where it sold for $18,375. The catalog description[1] noted, "TRANSYLVANIA, Principality. György Rákóczi II. 1648-1660. AV Dukát. Nagybánya (Frauenbach / Baia Mare) mint. Dated 1650 NB. Half-length armored bust right, holding scepter over shoulder and resting hand on hilt of sword, wearing short brimmed fur cap with feather / Madonna seated facing on crescent, holding infant Christ; coat-of-arms below. In NGC encapsulation 8409897-002, graded MS 61." 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. This type is listed for 1649-57.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 23 mm diameter, 3.49 g, 11 h axis.
Catalog reference: Resch 20A; MBR 2064; KM 274; Friedberg 399.
- 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.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
- [1]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXIX, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2025.
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