Denmark 1701 2 ducats Fr-243

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Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection, lot 1126
SB924-1126r.jpg

This specimen was lot 1126 in Stack's Bowers sale of the L. E. Bruun Collection (Copenhagen, September 2024), where it sold for €31,200 (about US$34,576 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"Historically Important 2 Ducats with Connection to the Danish Gold Coast Territories, DENMARK. 2 Ducats, 1701. Copenhagen Mint. Frederik IV. NGC MS-60. Mintmaster: Christian Wineke. Engraver: Anton Meybusch. EXTREMELY RARE, with only a few examples trading at auction in the prior decades, this 2 Ducats stands as one of the most popular and desirable of issues from Scandinavia, given the links to the Danish colonial empire and the phenomenal reverse design. The surfaces are unimpeachably beautiful, displaying all the Mint State appeal that is to be expected from such a grade. The strike is bold and beautiful, with no details left wanting across the surfaces. The piece actually presents nicer than the assigned grade, with the touch of friction not accompanied by major marking that would be expected at this level. It is no surprise that this example far exceeds the traced examples of the type, escaping damage that is unfortunately common on gold of this period. A coin that reaches to a numismatic level that few other coins can compete with.

The reverse shows the Danish fortress, Christiansborg on the so-called Gold Coast of Africa (now Ghana) seen from the Gulf of Guinea. The Danish Gold Coast Territorial Settlements including the five forts were sold to the United Kingdom in 1850. This design highlights Europe's colonial interactions with West Africa, as a significant amount of the gold used in European gold coinage came from the region. The British denomination "Guinea" arises from a name of the region, with all the major European Powers at one time or other taking a colonial interest in the area."

Wikipedia comments,

"While Denmark's trading posts in India were of little note, it played an important role in the highly lucrative Atlantic slave trade, through its trading outposts in Fort Christiansborg in Osu, Ghana through which 1.5 million slaves were traded. While the Danish colonial empire was sustained by trade with other major powers, and plantations – ultimately a lack of resources led to its stagnation."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 6.98 g, 0.979 fine gold, this specimen 6.94 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-243; cf. KM-476; Hede-10; Sieg-50; Schou-2; Kold-154; Bruun-7306.

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.

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