Flanders 1687 ducaton Dav-4482

Jean Elsen sale 121, lot 935

This specimen was lot 935 in Jean Elsen sale 121 (Brussels, June 2014), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,844 including buyers' fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"VLAANDEREN, Graafschap, Karel II (1665-1700), AR dukaton, 1687, Brugge. Tweede type. Droit: Bb. van de koning radié met lang haar en halsketting van het Gulden Vlies. Revers: Gekroond wapenschild gesteund door twee leeuwen. Onderaan het juweel van het Gulden Vlies. Uit onze veiling 2, 14 november 1984, 644. Van de grootste zeldzaamheid. Zeer Fraai. (county of Flanders, Charles II (1665-1700), silver ducaton of 1687, Bruges mint, second type. Obverse: crowned bust of the king with long hair and the Golden Fleece; reverse: crowned arms supported by two lions, Order of the Golden Fleece around. From Jean Elsen sale 2, lot 644. Of the highest rarity, very fine.)"

The SCWC lists this rare type for 1684, 1687 and 1689 only without pricing any date. Its rarity suggests the economic crisis in the Spanish Netherlands. The feeble reign of Charles II, the last of the Spanish Hapsburgs, was a disaster for Belgium, as the region was repeatedly invaded and devastated by the armies of Louis XIV. The turmoil did not end with Charles' death, as the powers of Europe fought a fifteen year war over partitioning the Hapsburg empire. In 1714, Belgium passed to Austria to keep it out of the hands of the French.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 32.48 g, 0.944 fine silver; this specimen is 32,47 g.

Catalog reference: G.H., Suppl., 348-4b; Delm., Suppl. 336b; Haeck, 815, Dav-4482, KM 82.

Source:

• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
• van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
• ^[1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 115: Collection Huntington, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2012.

Link to:

• 1684 ducaton
• 1685 patagon
• Brabant 1686 patagon, Antwerp mint, hammered
• Brabant 1686 patagon, Brussels mint, hammered
• Brabant 1686 patagon, Brussels mint, milled
• Brabant 1686 ducaton, Brussels mint, milled
• Brabant 1687 demi-patagon, Brussels mint
• 1687 patagon
• Brabant 1687(a) 8 souverain d'or Fr-115
• 1694 patagon
• 1694 double ducaton
• Coins and currency dated 1687
• return to coins of Netherlands, Spanish