Hi all, I have three gold ducats that I am attempting to research. I haven't been able to find much information on them yet, and am a true newbie to this sort of investigation and study. They are from the reign of King Rudolf II, circa 1578, 1588 and 1599. I've seen one pic of these coins where in the center on the front on either side are the letters K and A, but these have K and B. Any suggestions or direction into researching these is greatly appreciated. thank you.
Howdy ksdmcf - Welcome to the Forum !! The letters K-B stand for the Kormoc-Kremnitz mint in Hungary. I know of no mint mark for the time period with the letters K-A. So yes, pics would be most helpful. That being said the coin was struck in .986 gold, weighed 3.5 grams and was 22mm in diameter.
That would be one of them, though the design may be slightly different for different dates and mints. I particularly would like to see the coin with the K-A.
Yes! Those would be them! I'll see if I can find the pics of the K A ones. I believe in the case of the latter that they were minted during the rule of a different king, an earlier King of Hungary. How do I find out more about them and their value?
By posting pictures of the coins. Value is largely dependant on condition, then comes date and mint. So without pics we cannot offer an opinion on value. Also, given the dates you have provided, it can't be any other King. Rudolph's reign was 1576-1608.
I'll get pics of them They actually belong to my boyfriend. He showed them to me this morning as he was having an awful time researching them. I tend to be excellent at researching, so he gave me one to look at while researching. I also had difficulty until finding this site. The years of his coins are 1578, 1588 and 1599. This would be during the reign of Rudolf II, and it does say his name on the back (front?) of the ducats. The only one he had found a pic of was from 1520 and the reign of King Louis II of Hungary. They are in the Hungarian National Museum. I'll talk to him tonight about getting pics for me to post either tonight or tomorrow. I do appreciate all of the help on here so far. Normally, his interest in coins is merely interesting to me. This is different as my paternal line is from Bohemia/Czech Republic, so it holds a much greater fascination for me.
I'll wait for the pics. But there really isn't much more to tell about the coins besides what I have already told you besides the value. But if you wish to learn a bit more about ducats in general, perhaps you would enjoy reading an article I wrote on the subject. The Ducat
Your coins with the K and B are, needless to say, going to be very expensive if they are near the condition of the coin I posted. The one I posted sold for roughly 1000 USD a year ago...You can see the condition of the coin above, look at your own and you can probably deduce if it is in better or worse condition, thus worth less or more. The only real question would probably be whether they are real.
I have pics now He scanned them and the files are really big. I just need to find out how to make them a lot smaller so I can post them. Thanks!
An easy solution would be to go to PhotoBucket.com and post them there. Then just post the link to the pics here.
I wouldn't comment on authenticity with these scans but I would agree on the value given, maybe a bit more for one of them. If real, you have some real nice coins there.
Thanks for all of your help, guys! I really do appreciate everything you all have done to help me with this. You've been incredibly informative. Now, I'll tell him to get them authenticated and updated you all with what he finds! If nothing else, this did pique my interest in the subject. I love things historical, and just researching the history of the kings and saint involved was a lot of fun! Karen :hug:
