Denmark 1756-VH ducat Fr-268

Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection, lot 1147

This specimen was lot 1147 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €20,400 (about US$22,607 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Exceptional Gem Deep Prooflike Ducat of Frederik V, The Only Example Certified of the Date by NGC, DENMARK. Ducat, 1756. Copenhagen Mint. Frederik V. NGC MS-65 Deep Prooflike. Mintmaster: Peter Nicolai van Hauen (VH). Engraver: Magnus Gustavus Arbien. Perhaps the single most impressive survivor extant from this three year type, this magnificent Ducat displays stunning reflective qualities in the fields, while the designs are laden with the utmost frost. An absolute treasure to behold, the strike is also entirely complete, with the popular ship motif on the reverse seemingly floating atop the surfaces.

Bearing a symbolic reverse, the ship design on this type designates that the gold used to coin this piece was acquired from overseas. The Latin legend, "DUCE PRUDENTIA, CONSTANTIA COMITE", which has roots in religious teachings, can be translated as "With Wisdom as a Guide, Perseverance as a Companion"."

This type was struck 1753-56. Peter Nicolai von Haven was mintmaster at Copenhagen 1747-61.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 3.47 g, 0.979 fine gold, 21.1 mm diameter, reeded edge, this specimen 3.50 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-268; KM-583; Hede-19; Sieg-40; Schou-1; Bruun-7657.

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.
• Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
• Siegs Møntcatalog 2016: Danmark med Omrader, 48 ed., Frederikssund, Siegs Forlag ApS, 2015.
• ^[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:

• 1754-VH ducat
• 1756-P·N·V·H· 24 skilling
• 1757-VH 12 mark, crowned "F's" obverse
• 1757-VH 12 mark, bust obverse
• 1758 ducat
• Coins and currency dated 1756