Cologne 1570 goldgulden Fr-759
This specimen was lot 729 in Jean Elsen sale 122 (Brussels, September 2014), where it sold for €800 (about US$1,225 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ALLEMAGNE, COLOGNE, Ville, AV florin d'or, 1570, Au titre de Maximilien II. Droit: Ecu de la ville dans un quadrilobe anglé, entre les écussons de Mayence, Trèves, Cologne et Bavière. Revers: Aigle impériale éployée et couronnée. Rare. Avec la légende [..]MON[..] au droit. Très Beau à Superbe. (Germany, city of Cologne, gold florin of 1570, in the name of Maximilian II. Obverse: arms of the city within a pointed quadrilobe, between the shields of Mainz, Trier, Cologne and Bavaria. Reverse: crowned imperial eagle displayed. Rare, very fine to extremely fine.)"
The archbishopric of Cologne, like Mainz and Trier, was an ecclesiastical state along the river Rhine whose ruler was one of the Electors of the Empire. This piece, however, was issued by the city in the name of the emperor rather than the archbishop (Salentin of Isenburg).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, .110 troy oz AGW, this specimen 3,29 g.
Catalog reference: Noss, 155; Fr-759.
- [1]Philippe Elsen et al., Vente Publique 122: Collection de monnaies chinoises, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S. A., 2014.
- Cuhaj, George S., Thomas Michael and Douglas Nicol, Standard Catalog of German Coins, 1501-Present, 3rd Ed. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- 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.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
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