Aragon (1516-55)-CA 2 ducats Fr-22
The first specimen was lot 3274 in Künker sale 294 (Osnabrück, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €1,200 (about US$1,617 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SPANIEN, ARAGON, Carlos I. und Juana, 1504-1516-1555. 2 Dukaten o. J. Saragossa. GOLD. RR Sehr schön. (kingdom of Aragon, Charles and Johanna, 1516-55, undated double ducat, Zaragoza mint. Rare, very fine.)"
The second specimen was lot 861 in Jean Elsen sale 137 (Brussels, June 2018), where it did not sell. The catalog description[2] noted,
"ESPAGNE, Jeanne la Folle et Charles Quint (1504-1516), AV double ducat, s.d., Saragosse. D/ + IOANA: ET: KARLOS: DEI: GRA: RA: R: AR: B. affrontés et couronnés. Au milieu, C. R/ + IOANA ET KAROLVS REXS ARAGONVM ET Ecu d'Aragon couronné, entre C-A. Très rare. Très Beau. (Spain, Joanna the Mad and Charles V, 1504-16, undated gold double ducat, Zaragoza mint. Two crowned busts facing each other, "C" between; reverse: crowned arms of Aragon, between "C - A". Very rare, very fine.)"
In the fifteenth century, Spain was a geographical expression, not a unified realm. Charles' grandfather Ferdinand, by marriage to Isabella of Castile, unified the two major parts of Spain, Aragon and Castile. Altho Catalonia would continue to receive a separate gold coinage, this is the last specifically Aragonese gold coin.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 7 g, 0.986 fine gold, the first specimen 6.86 g, the second specimen 6,87 g.
Catalog reference: C.C.T. 23, Fr-22; Cayón-3160.
- 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]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 294: Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871 | Russische Münzen und Medaillen, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
- [2]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 137, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2018.
- Calicó, Ferrán, Xavier Calicó and Joaquin Trigo, Monedas Españolas desde Felipe II a Isabel II, Años: 1556 a 1868, 5ª edicion, Barcelona: Gráficas Reclam, 1982.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, vol. 1, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
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