Transylvania 1731 ducat Fr-520
This specimen was lot 3267 in Sincona Auction 101 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 4,250 CHF (about US$6,406 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RDR / ÖSTERREICH Karl VI. 1711-1740. Dukat 1731, Siebenbürgen. Sehr selten in dieser Erhaltung. (Holy Roman Empire, Charles VI, 1711-40, ducat of 1731, for Transylvania. Very rare in this condition. NGC MS62.)"
While the ducats of the seventeenth century were issued by the local princes and vary widely in design, by the reign of Charles VI (father of Maria Theresia), Transylvania was firmly under Hapsburg control. Friedburg lumps all the ducats of this reign under one catalog number while the SCWC divides them into five types to account for their considerable variation. This subtype was struck 1729-33. The design is very similar to the regular ducats of Austria but the reverse legend states, "PRINC·TRANSYL·" in addition to the emperor's other titles.
Recorded mintage: unknown but common for the series.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, .110 troy oz AGW, this specimen 3.46 g.
Catalog reference: Huszar 897, Herinek 215, KM 581, Fr-520.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 101: World Coins, Medals and Banknotes, Swiss Confederate Coins, Medals and Banknotes, Shooting Coins and Medals, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2025.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Adolf Resch, Siebenburgische Münzen und Medaillen von 1538 bis Gegenwart. Hermannstadt, 1901 (reprinted in Montreal, 1965).
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