Brabant 1623(a) 2 ducaton Dav-4443
This specimen was lot 563 in Jean Elsen sale 124 (Brussels, March 2015), where it sold for €18,000 (about US$22,442 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Philippe IV (1621-1665), AR ducaton, 1623, Bruxelles. Premier type. Piéfort de poids double. Droit: B. cuirassé à droite, une grande fraise au col. Revers: Ecu couronné, tenu par deux lions. En dessous, le bijou de la Toison d'or. Extrêmement Rare. Exemplaire de qualité exceptionnelle, peut-être le meilleur connu, parfaitement frappé sur un flan régulier. Première émission du type dans l'atelier de Bruxelles. En tout et pour tout, on n'y frappa en 1623 que 193 ducatons, simples, doubles et triples. Superbe à Fleur de Coin. (duchy of Brabant, Philip IV (1621-65), silver ducaton of 1623, Brussels mint, first type, piedfort of double weight. Obverse: armored bust to right with ruffed collar; reverse: crowned arms supported by two lions, order of the Golden Fleece below. Extremely rare, of exceptional quality, perhaps the finest known, fully struck on a round flan. First issue of this mint. In all and for all, there were 193 ducatons struck in 1623, including singles, doubles and triples.)"
Ducatons were issued in the Spanish Netherlands and associated states (including the bishopric of Liege 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 Antwerp mint 1618-19 and at the Brussels mint 1618-21. A very similar coin was struck for Tournai (Dav-4430). The SCWC notes the Brussels issues as the most common, followed by the Antwerp issue, tho none are plentiful today. The series is plagued by bad planchets and poor strikes, reducing their appeal to collectors.
Reported Mintage: unknown but few.
Specification: 64.96 g, .944 fine silver, .985 troy oz ASW, this specimen 60,65 g.
Catalog reference: KM 57.2, Dav-4443, G.H., 327-3a; Delm., 275a.
- 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.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 124, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2015.
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