View source for Groningen 1561 10 ducats

[[Image:H3096-30417o.jpg|300px|thumb|Heritage sale 3096, lot 30417]]
[[Image:H3096-30417r.jpg|300px|thumb]]

This specimen was lot 30417 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $204,000. The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, <blockquote>"Extraordinarily Rare 10 Ducat of [[Netherlands, Groningen|Groningen]]. City gold Ecu au St. Jean (10 Ducat) 1561 AU55 NGC. Struck from Daalder dies (cf. Dav-8878). SANCTVS ? IOANNES | BABTISTA * Aº * 1561, John the Baptist, the Patron Saint of Groningen, standing facing with the index finger of his right hand pointing to the Lamb of God (Agnus dei), which is seated upon a book in his left arm / MONETA * NOVA * ARGENTEA * GRONINGENSIS, crowned double-headed eagle with coat of arms of Groningen upon chest. An extremely rare "Écu of St. John," noted in Delmonte as R4, indicating 2 or 3 known. While the equivalent daalder type was known to Pieter Otto van der Chijs, who described it in his De Munten van Friesland, Groningen en Drenthe (der Heeren van Koevorden) (1855) as the first Rijksdaalder of Groningen, and noted the presence of four or five specimens in collections located in The Hague, Groningen, and Utrecht, he made no reference whatsoever to a striking in gold; similarly, it was missing from the 1892 ''Catalogus der Gouden, Zilveren en Koperen Specien'' of the Utrecht Coin Cabinet's collection. Interestingly, in his records of the Daalder, van der Chijs records the weights of three such examples, all of which differ greatly from one another, perhaps corresponding to the fact that the issue very much represented an experimental type for the city, produced in response to its rising economic importance. For his part, Delmonte knew only of this piece, sold by Jacques Schulman in 1925, which was described as unique in that catalog. Additionally, a piece bearing the same design, but of 4 Ducats weight and struck from 1/2 Daalder dies, appeared in Leu Numismatik Auction 80 (May 2001, lot 609). It would thus appear that the issue was struck in various sizes, and as such this specific size and weight may very well be one of a kind. Ex. Schweizerischer Bankverein Auction 14 (January 1985, Lot 1615); Virgil Brand Collection, Part VI (Sotheby's May 1984, Lot 476); Ferrari Collection (Jacques Schulman November 1925, Lot 829); Jacques Schulman (December 1910, Lot 1440), purchased by the Vicomte de Sartiges. From the Paramount Collection."</blockquote> Groningen is the province in the far north of the Netherlands, facing the North Sea. Remote and windswept, her coinage was alway the scantiest.

''Recorded Mintage:'' unknown.

''Specification:'' 35 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 33.95 g.

''Catalog reference:'' Fr-Unl., Delm-1154 (R4; citing this coin), cf. van der Chijs-XVII, 141 (for Daalder), Schellhass Collection-Unl., CNM-2.21.2, PW-Unl.

''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
* 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.
* <sup>[1]</sup>Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, ''The Paramount Collection World & Ancient Coins: Signature Auction 3096'', Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2021.

''Link to:''
* [[Groningen 1568 4 stuivers]] = flabbe
* [[Groningen-Ommelanden 1579 uniedaalder Dav-8502]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1561]]

[[Category:Selections from Heritage sale 3096]][[Category: Gold ducats of Europe]][[Category: Coinage of the Dutch provinces]]