Hainaut (1389-1404) couronne d'or Fr-258
This specimen was lot 962 in Jean Elsen sale 147 (Brussels, June 2021), where it sold for €15,000 (about US$21,923 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"HAINAUT, Comté, Albert de Bavière (1389-1404), AV grande couronne d'or, Valenciennes. D/ Ecu écartelé et couronné de Bavière-Hainaut. Douze lions dans le champ. R/ Dans un polylobe, grande croix ornée, portant en coeur une aigle dans un quadrilobe, cantonnée de quatre lions. Extrêmement rare Exemplaire bien frappé sur un flan large et régulier. Superbe. L'une des monnaies médiévales les plus spectaculaires de nos régions. Albert de Bavière gouverna le Hainaut, la Hollande et la Zélande pendant près de 50 ans. Dès 1358, il exerça la régence au nom de son frère Guillaume, atteint de folie et enfermé au château du Quesnoy. Il lui succéda en 1389 et mourut à la Haye en 1404. (county of Hainaut, Albert of Bavaria, 1389-1404, gold crown, Valenciennes mint. Obverse: quartered arms of Bavaria and Hainaut, twelve lions in the field; reverse: large ornate cross in a polylobe, eagle at center, cantonned with four lions. Extremely rare, well struck, Extremely Fine. One of the most spectacular medieval coins from the region. Albert of Bavaria governed Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland for nearly fifty years. From 1358, he was regent for his insane brother William, locked up in the castle of Quesnoy. He succeeded in 1389 and died at the Hague in 1404.)"
The count also struck another gold crown (Fr-259) which was smaller but not half this coin. Albert's realm eventually passed to a grandson, Philip III, duke of Burgundy.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold; this specimen 5,16 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-258, Chalon 116; Lucas, Hainaut, 136; Delm-294.
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- 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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 147: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
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