Watch List notes:

GERMANY. Frankfurt. 5 Ducat, ND (1612). NGC VF Details--Graffiti.
Fr-954. 17.36 grams. Obverse: Armored monarch charging on war horse, city view at right, exergue: "MATTHIAS. D:G: .IMP:RO."; Reverse: Imperial eagle in circle of arms of the seven temporal and spiritual Electors, each with an identifying initial. Struck on the election of Matthias as Holy Roman Emperor. A date, "16 - 35", has been lightly etched into the left and right obverse field, but actual wear is minimal, with marvelous artistry on display in the hair detail of Matthias' charging horse. A starkly modern-looking design makes this an unusually handsome coin. It is also a fabled RARITY, one of only two known to exist.

A member of the House of Habsburg, Matthias (1557-1619) was born in Vienna, the capital of Austria, to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. In his early 20s, Matthias was invited to the Netherlands, where he would accept the role of Governor-General within the provinces that were then under Spanish influence. Upon their declaration of independence in 1581, he returned home to Austria. In 1593, his brother Rudolf II, the residing Holy Roman Emperor, appointed Matthias to Governor of Austria. After he helped construct the Peace of Vienna treaty in 1606, which guaranteed religious freedom in Hungary, he was recognized as the head of the House of Habsburg, and the future Holy Roman Emperor. Seizing on his brother's illness, he became King of Hungary and Croatia in 1608. Several years later, in 1611, his brother ceded Bohemia to Matthias as well after he held him prisoner in his castle in Prague. Upon Rudolph II's death in 1612, Matthias finally became Holy Roman Emperor, with the coronation taking place on June 26, 1612 in the Imperial Free City of Frankfurt.

Estimate: $35000.00- $55000.00