Auction #31 will feature an extremely rare 2 Ducat 1937. Numismatic experts and historians have described its possession as one of the greatest desires of collectors, while at the same time one of the most difficult to fulfil. It will be auctioned on 20 October 2023 as lot #428 with a starting price of 650,000 euros. The 2 Ducat 1937 comes from the collection of a high-ranking employee of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Finance, Karel Hackenschmied. Find out more about Karel Hackenschmied here. Our Auction House examined the archives of the Kremnica Mint and found documentation on the 2 Ducat 1937's provenance.
Archival records of the order and even a "complaint"
The archives of the Kremnica Mint contain the exact details of Karl Hackenschmid's order. It is clear that he ordered a 1 Ducat 1937 and a 2 Ducat 1937, for which he sent gold in the form of 4 Austro-Hungarian ducats and 2 Czechoslovak ducats, since at that time, there was already a law in force which required twice as much gold to be paid as the weight of the coins ordered. He sent the gold to the mint through his subordinate, Dr. Jiří Frič, on 4 November 1937. The Mint received the gold on 6 November 1937. The Mint then sent the minted coins with the 1937 vintage on 17 December 1937 to Karel Hackenschmid's address.
But the story does not end just yet. There are also records of Karel Hackenschmid's "complaint" in the archived documents. In fact, the Mint originally sent him a 2 Ducat with the year 1936 instead of a 2 Ducat 1937. The filing protocol from 1937 states: Karel Hackenschmid, Prague: Returns 1 /2#, which was sent to him in error, with the year 1936 in exchange for 2# with the year 1937, encloses CZK 20 for possible expenses. Method of handling: 27 December in Prague, Karel Hackenschmid, # exchanged. Note: # stands for ducat.
We would like to thank Radek Havel and the Kremnica Mint for this valuable information.
