Flanders 1635 ducaton Dav-4446
This specimen was lot 799 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €240 (about US$333 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"VLAANDEREN, Graafschap, Philips IV (1621-1665), AR dukaton, 1635, Brugge. Eerste type. Vz/ Bb. r., met brede kraag. Kz/ Gekroond wapenschild gesteund door twee leeuwen. Onderaan het juweel van het Gulden Vlies. Zeldzaam. Krassen. Vermoedelijk uit een wrak. (county of Flanders, Philip IV, 1621-65, silver ducaton of 1635, Bruges mint, first type. Obverse: bust right with ruffed collar; reverse: crowned arms supported by two lions, the jewel of the Golden Fleece below. Rare, scratched, Very Fine.)"
Ducatons were issued in the Spanish Netherlands and associated states (including the bishopric of Liège and Franche Comte) during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, where they competed with French écus, German talers and Dutch daalders and patagons. The type shown here was struck at the Bruges mint 1622 and 1631-36. A very similar coin was struck for Artois (Dav-4448), Brabant (Dav-4444) and Tournai (Dav-4450). The series is plagued by bad planchets and poor strikes, reducing their appeal to collectors.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 32.48 g, 0.944 fine silver, this specimen 32,31 g.
Catalog reference: KM 35, Dav-4446, G.H. 327-6a; Delm. 276; VH 640.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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