GERMANY. Pfalz (Palatinate). Ducat, 1769-S. Mannheim Mint. Karl Theodor (1743-99). NGC MS-61.

Fr-2036; KM-134. One year type. Obverse: Bust right in peruke; Reverse: Three crisply defined shields under a tall electoral crown. This coin shows Karl Theodor of Pfalz Sulzbach near his apogee as Count Palatine of the Rhine, Elector of the Empire; eight years later he would add Duke of Bavaria to his titles. Preserved in sensational quality, the designs are perfectly sharp with bright yellow color and strong eye catching flash in the fields. One of only two examples we have seen of this EXTREMELY RARE issue, and the finest by a mile, with the other piece, offered in a 2006 UBS auction (auction 65 - lot 518) displaying circulation and two prominent diagonal creases from where the coin had been bent. In such a wonderful state, certainly worth considering for an advanced cabinet of world-class trade coinage.

Ex: Stack's, 1/2008, lot 2723 at $19,550.