Johan III (1568-1592) gold Double Rose Noble (5 Ducat or 1/2 Portugalöser) ND (1585-1586) MS61 NGC, Stockholm mint, Fr-4 (Rare), AAH-4 (R), Hagander-23 = Hagander Collection-5006, SGM-5 (XR; 3 examples studied). 15.15gm. Gillis (Julius) Coyet the Elder as mintmaster. Struck from Daler dies (cf. Dav-8708). A coin whose historical interest is evident even at a glance. Collectors of hammered Swedish gold are well aware of the difficulty in encountering specimens at all, and most of those seen show clear mount removals and use in jewelry. Thus, finding a representative in Mint State is a considerable feat in-and-of-itself. Indeed, the luster that permeates this offering contains a Prooflike quality, and this alone seems to elevate the coin above its assigned grade, which is most likely bound by a few stray signs of contact. As of the time of publishing his recent book, Sveriges Guldmynt, Robert Delzanno recorded only three specimens, none of which appear to be the present coin: 1) The Bonde Collection specimen. Ulf Nordlind Mynthandel Auction 3 (2008, Lot 145) = SGM-5 Plate Coin 2) The Hagander Collection specimen. Künker Auction 196 (September 2011, Lot 5006); Purchased by Julius Hagander in 1986 from Claes-Olof Algård, Vancouver; Virgil Brand Collection, Part 1 (Sotheby's July 1982, Lot 287); Lars Emil Bruun Collection, Part 1 (Adolph Hess Auction 151, May 1914, Lot 505) = Fr-4 Plate Coin 3) Künker Auction 251 (July 2014, Lot 3158); Bjarne Ahlström Auction 58 (1998, Lot 219) = AAH-4 Plate Coin Of these three, perhaps the Hagander example is closest in quality to this piece, though even that coin had a subtle mount removal; the Bonde specimen, by comparison, had a dramatic mount removal at 12 o'clock along with a slight bend in the flan, and the Künker 251 specimen suffered from severe wrinkling to the flan and had a small graffiti X in the right obverse field. As such, this is a truly singular selection, and very likely the finest known. A lover of aesthetic beauty, Johan III did not have much of a mind for financial or economic manners. His desire to "not be bothered by financial restraints" resulted in some of the most beautiful coins in Swedish history, even while at the time they resulted in atrocious inflation. This particular issue was the product of the King's desire to acquire "good Hungarian gold" in the summer of 1585, and such pieces as these were likely all given directly to the King soon after minting, while the contemporary 2 Dalers from similar dies are believed to have been used as bribes for the Polish Parliament. Ex. Guia Collection (Bowers & Merena March 1988, Lot 491)

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