Transylvania 1768-HG 2 ducats Fr-541
This specimen was lot 3856 in Künker sale 406 (Osnabruck, March 2024), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,149 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Maria Theresia, 1740-1780. 2 Dukaten 1768, HG, Karlsburg. GOLD. Sehr schön-vorzüglich/vorzüglich. (Holy Roman Empire, Maria Theresia, 1740-80, double ducat of 1768, Karlsburg mint. Very fine to extremely fine.)"
This type was struck 1768-80 but is rare despite the many years of production. The auctioneers listed it under Austria but the reverse design is distinctive to Transylvania, where Friedberg and the SCWC file it. The matching ducat (KM 646) is more affordable. After the death of her husband, Francis I, in 1765, a veiled bust of the empress was used.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.98 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 6.97 g.
Catalog reference: KM 650, Eypeltauer 382 a; Fr-541.
- 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.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 406: Gold Coins | Coins and Medals from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. Löwenstein-Wertheim | German Coins after 1871, a. o. Patterns from the Coenen Collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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