Praise & Price for Rarity! Auction of rare coins at the Vienna Dorotheum

100 Schillings gold coin

15-fold gold ducat

Rare and well preserved coins will make many a collector's heart beat faster at the upcoming auction in this fascinating and many-faceted category. The coin auction to be held at the Vienna Dorotheum on 20th and 21st November 2007, will present a total of 1600 lots, including a fine range of exceptional examples of the art.

One of the most spectacular as well as visually pleasing of these coins is a 15-fold gold ducat of high historical and aesthetic value. It was minted in Vienna on the occasion of the coronation of Ferdinand V., the future Emperor Ferdinand I. of Austria, the last coronation of a Hungarian king to take place at Bratislava/Posony/Pressburg, on what was then Hungarian soil. The obverse side shows a double portrait of Ferdinand I. and his predecessor, Empeor Franz, while the other side shows an oak tree bearing the Hungarian coat-of-arms and surmounted by the Eye of Providence. Only 100 such coins were minted for the occasion and passed out to the kingdom's ecclesiastical and secular elite by King Ferdinand V. himself. In excellent condition and no doubt of particular attractiveness to Slovak and Hungarian collectors and museums, this rarity starts the auction at  15.000 Euro (Cat. No. 270).

Only one other example is known to exits of a 10 ducat piece, 1687, from Nagybanya, showing Emperor Leopold I. in Baroque finery with wig and decorative armour, as well as the Patrona Hungariae with glory. Likewise in prime condition, bidding for this coin will start at 18.000 Euro (Cat. No. 66).

100 Schillings gold coin