View source for Thorn (1631)-HH 4-1/2 ducats Fr-56

[[Image:H3096-30426o.jpg|300px|thumb|Heritage sale 3096, lot 30426]]
[[Image:H3096-30426r.jpg|300px|thumb]]
[[Image:Thorn 1648.jpg|400px|thumb|city of Thorn in 1648]]

This specimen was lot 30426 in Heritage auction 3096 (Dallas, TX, March 2021), where it sold for $. The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, <blockquote>"Ex. Chelminski 4-1/2 Ducat Struck for the Siege of Thorn - Possibly the Only Example in Private Hands. [[Poland]]: Thorn. Sigismund III gold 4-1/2 Ducat 1629-Dated (1631)-HH/HL AU Details (Plugged) NGC, Thorn mint. By Heinrich Heme. Hans Lippe as mintmaster. Struck from Taler dies (cf. KM 9). Second Type. Arguably one of the most iconic--and certainly the most famous--types ever produced in the city of Thorn, its rarity uniformly recognized by Kopicki, Dutowski, and the Corpus Nummorum Civitatis Thorunensis as R8, suggesting as few as 2-3 known specimens. While designated on the holder as a 5 Ducat, the weight of this piece actually conforms more closely with the 4-1/2 Ducat cited by Dutowski and Suchanek's Corpus, the examples that they record (among which is this exact coin) grouped tightly around 16.5 to 16.6 g. Such a fact seems further supported by the issue's absence from Marek Kaleniecki's Auction Records of Polish Gold Coins 1945-2002, which contains sales information only for the surrounding 4 and 5 Ducats, fully suggesting that a representative in this standard has likely not come to auction in 100 years (the most recent auction result logged by the Corpus). Entirely missing from the Hutten-Czapski, Reichel, Frankiewicz, and Karolkiewicz collections, it is easy to see why this series has gained such renown amongst collectors. Its artistry is careful and handsomely executed, hardly surprising considering Lippe's employment under Johannes Jacob Jacobson at Bromberg, even admitting the noted mount removal and repair work, which was present on the offering at least as far back as 1904 in Helbing's catalog of the Chelminski Collection. With a single piece in the Ossolineum in Lodz, and the current whereabouts of the plate piece in the Corpus uncertain, the present selection may very well be the only example in private hands.

<p>Commemorating the city of Thorn's survival of Field Marshal Hermann von Wrangel's siege during the Swedish-Polish War, the talers and multiple ducats of this series represent the first issues of the newly reopened municipal mint after 1630. Commissioned by an edict of the City Council as part of a plan to make the date of the lifting of the siege (February 16th) a civic holiday, the new coins were to be engraved by Heinrich Heme under the supervision of Hans Lippe, who had previously been employed as an assayer at the Bromberg mint under Johannes Jacob Jacobson, whose tenure had also seen the production of the famous 1621 100 Ducat of Sigismund III. Carrying the legend THORYVNIA HOSTILITER OPPVGNATA ET A CIVIBVS FORTITER DEFENSA D. 16 FEBRUARII ANNO MDCXXIX (Thorn, besieged by the enemy, defended by its citizens with the help of the highest God, 16 February 1629), Dutowski and Suchanek suggest that perhaps more than 100 coins in gold and silver were originally produced in all denominations, intended for dispersion among members of the City Council, the mayors, and other notables, with the gold coins in particular intended for important (wealthy) citizens and important visitors, such as Prince Wladislaw Jagiello and King Sigismund III himself. The authors further distinguish 3 primary subtypes, marked by subtle design differences and features of the city, with this (second) type portraying a view of the city from the shore of the island Kepa Bazarowa. Ex. Otto Helbing (November 1909, Lot 705); Sigismund von Chelminski Collection (Otto Helbing April 1904, Lot 509); Reportedly also part of Otto Helbing XIV, where it was lot 1146, though we have been unable to locate this catalog. From the Paramount Collection."</p></blockquote> The SCWC does not list any coin of this denomination. This example is closer to five ducats (17.5 g) in weight. The SCWC mentions KM 10 (3 ducat), KM 17 (thaler, Dav-4371) and KM 16 (half thaler) with this mintmaster. The city of Thorn is now Torun in Poland.

''Recorded mintage:'' unknown.

''Specification:'' 15.75 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 16.60 g. 

''Catalog reference:'' KM-Unl., cf. Fr-56 (Very Rare; Struck from 1/2 Taler dies), cf. HCz-1592 (R3; slightly different design in lighter weight), Gum-1422a var. (RR), Chelminski-509 (this coin), Kop-1537c (R8), Dutowski-05 (R8; same dies, 4-1/2 Ducat), CNCT-1341 (R8; 4-1/2 Ducat, this coin cited). 

''[[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. 
* Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, ''Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed.,'' Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
* <sup>[1]</sup>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.

''Link to:''
* [[Thorn 1629 thaler Dav-4369]], city view
* [[Thorn 1630-II ducat Fr-55]]
* [[Thorn 1631-II thaler Dav-4372]]
* [[Thorn 1633-II thaler Dav-4374]]
* [[Thorn 1635-II ducat Fr-58]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1631]]

[[Category:Selections from Heritage sale 3096]][[Category: Gold ducats of Europe]]