30141: Rantzau. Christian I gold Ducat 1656 AU55 PCGS

Rantzau. Christian I gold Ducat 1656 AU55 PCGS, KM1, Fr-2449, Lange-1006. 3.48gm. A highly elusive gold type struck in Rantzau, a small county situated in Holstein. Christian, depicted on the obverse, was granted the title of count and the mint right by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III in 1650, with the result that the gold coinage seen here could be legally produced, even if in ultimately limited mintages. Few survive, and even fewer in the quality displayed by the present piece, which, though very lightly circulated, displays close to full definition and only minute wisps of handling in the fields to indicate any use in exchange. The reverse arms, in particular, appear to rival even the highest condition examples that we could locate in terms of striking sharpness, the overall result being that of an illustrative 17th-century ducat, one poised to accumulate both significant praise and collector adoration. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved