Riga 1643-HW 2 ducats Fr-9a

Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection, lot 1248

This specimen was lot 1248 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €55,200 (about US$61,173 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Beautiful Mint State 2 Ducats Struck at the Riga Mint, SWEDEN. Swedish Livonia. Riga. 2 Ducats, 1643. Riga Mint. Kristina. NGC MS-60. Moneyer: Henrik Wulff (HW). An EXCEEDINGLY RARE one-year coinage struck when Kristina was just 17, which predates her coronation by 7 years. A phenomenal Double Ducat, this type is a preeminent numismatic treasure from the Baltic, displaying bright reflectivity that illuminates the surfaces. The details are powerfully impressed on the flan, with no real evidence of shift that is quite common on coins of this period. Friction likely accounts for the grade assigned, though this is actually less severe than one might expect for the technical grade, as contact marks are limited. A stunning gold issue that unites the numismatic history of Sweden, Poland, and Latvia, and as such a coin whose importance cannot be overstated. The scarcity of this coin is underlined by the fact that the 2019 'Gold Coins from Sweden' book only shows a gritty black and white photograph of it, as apparently no recent photos could be found. Under Swedish rule from 1621 to 1710 the city of Riga, now the capital of Latvia, was the second largest city in the Swedish realm and immensely important both strategically and economically. Ex: Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private Sale - 1922)."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 6.98 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 6.82 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-9a; KM-28; SB-35; SG-46; not in Hagander; Bruun-11983.

Source:

• Bjorne Ahlstrom, Yngve Almer and Bengt Hemmingson, Sveriges Mynt, 1521-1977, the Coinage of Sweden. Stockholm: Numismatika Bokforlaget AB, 1976.
• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• Delzanno, Roberto, Myntårsboken 2022, Sveriges Mynt 995-2021, 1:a upplagen, Stockholm, 2021.
• 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio, Jeremy Bostwick and Henrik Holt Christensen, The L. E. Bruun Collection - A Corpus of Scandinavian Monetary History Part I, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.

Links to:

• Livonia 1639-HW thaler Dav-4589 Swedish occupation
• (16)43 solidus
• 1644-HW thaler
• Sweden 1644-AG riksdaler Dav-4525
• Sweden 1645 ore
• 1645-HW thaler
• 1645 5 ducats
• Livonia 1660-IM thaler Dav-4596
• Coins and currency dated 1643