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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;silvereagle82, post: 785868, member: 1700&quot;]Well its official now .. I am the proud owner:loud: So I&#039;ll go ahead and post my newest ducat</p><p><br /></p><p>Russian 1849 Ducat </p><p>NGC PF 64 Cameo</p><p>St. Petersburg Mint</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f374/silvereagle82/465478ol-1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f374/silvereagle82/465478rl-1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is a very special and rare coin .... Why you ask ?</p><p><br /></p><p>Well In my opinion:</p><ul> <li>&quot;1849&quot; dated ducats were struck at St. Petersburg mint from 1849-1868 .... How many ?? .... 4,350,190 per St. Petersburg mint records. Seems like a lot yet you do not see a lot of these on the market !! A common coin in its day, remember that the ducat was the best known gold trade coin in its day and the Russian Armies and Imperial family traveled extensively through all of Europe and central Asia; therefore it was commonly melted to produce other gold coins, jewelry, etc. of the other countries.?? Mintage figures are very misleading at times and do not represent surviving numbers.</li> <li>In all my extensive reference materials (both book and internet) I can find no record of any &quot;proof&quot; ducat pre 1900 (Dutch or Russian). I can&#039;t find any record of any sold in all my over 100 world auction catalogs from the past 5 years.</li> <li>Now for a proof 1849 St. Petersburg ducat.&nbsp; Do they exist ? .... Obviously based on this specimen they do, but they have to be rare ... Could it have been a special proof presentation coin for the State Treasury or purse of the Russian Imperial family of Nicholas I or Alexander III ???&nbsp; </li> <li>As to whether or not this is a real proof strike coin vs. a proof-like commercial strike coin ... I posed the question to Mr. Rick Ponterio(Formerly owner of Ponterio &amp; Associates &amp; now with Bowers and Merena Auctions and a noted world coin expert) himself, asking him to review the coin in-hand and give me his opinion .... his email answer &quot;In my opinion, this coin is a proof, and not a prooflike business strike. NGC has properly designated it as a proof.&quot;</li> </ul><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m going to continue my research on this proof ducat and would welcome any input from those with something to contribute towards this end.</p><p><br /></p><p>Enjoy .. I know i will:hail:!!![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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