Bern ND 4 ducats Fr-117

Sincona sale 100, lot 1157

This specimen was lot 1157 in Sincona Auction 100 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 65,000 CHF (about US$97,968 including buyers' fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"SCHWEIZ Bern, Stadt und Kanton, 4 Dukaten o. J. (16. Jhdt.), Bern. Vom Stempel des Dickens o. J. MONETA.NO.BERNENSIS Nach links schreitender Bär, darüber ein kleiner Doppeladler. Rv. .DVX./.BERCHT./.ZERINGE./CONDITO./.BERNENS./ANNO:D./.1191. in sieben Zeilen. Glatter Rand. Von grösster Seltenheit. Einziges bekanntes Exemplar. (Switzerland, canton of Bern, undated four ducats, sixteenth century, Bern mint. struck using dicken dies. Obverse: a bear strides left under a small double headed eagle; reverse: inscription. Plain edge, Of the highest rarity, The only known specimen, PCGS AU55.)"

We have a number of Bernese dickens posted here. While they share the obverse design of a striding bear under an eagle, we don't see any with an inscription on the reverse. Catalog number HMZ 2-172a, for which we lack an image, may have been the model.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 14 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen 14.13 g.

Catalog reference: Lohner see 259 (as a six ducats), Rickli 116, Anm. Richter (Proben) 1-144. HMZ 2-172a (in silver), Anm. Fr-117 (as a three ducats).

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.
• Richter, Jürg, and Ruedi Kunzmann, Neuer HMZ-Katalog, Band 2: Die Münzen der Schweiz und Liechtensteins 15//16. Jahrhundert bis Gegenwart, Regenstauf, Germany: H. Gietl Verlag GmbH, 2006.
• ^[1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 100: SINCONA Jubilee Auction, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2025.

Link to:

• Bern 1492 4 ducats Fr-92
• 1501 5 ducats
• 1501 10 ducats
• Bern 1680 4 ducats Fr-131