A massive 100-ducat gold piece of Ferdinand III sold for more than €2.5 million (about $4 million Cdn) during the second auction of the Traveller Collection, held Nov. 6 in Zürich.
The sale, conducted by Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC), marked another milestone for what has become one of the most significant European collections to reach the market in decades.
The 1629 gold issue – often described as one of the “gold giants” of early modern Europe – realized CHF 2,388,750 (about $4.2 million Cdn), making it the most expensive post-antique European gold coin ever sold at auction. Struck when Ferdinand III was Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, the 100-ducat piece weighs an extraordinary 348.5 grams of fine gold. It is believed to have been created as a diplomatic gift during the Thirty Years’ War to secure support for the Habsburg cause among German princes.
The auction formed the second instalment of the Traveller Collection’s ongoing sale series. Comprising more than 15,000 coins, the collection was quietly assembled before and during the Second World War by an anonymous European collector who went to extraordinary lengths to hide the material from potential Nazi confiscation. The full collection carries an estimated value of US$100 million.
This latest offering focused on Central European issues and far exceeded expectations. The sale total reached CHF 14,889,568 (about $25.9 million Cdn) against a presale estimate of about CHF 5 million. The hammer total for the day was CHF 12,154,750 (about $21.1 million Cdn).
Among the standout results:
• Transylvania – 10 ducats (Sibiu)
A rare 10-ducat piece from Sibiu, struck during the early 17th-century Transylvanian civil conflicts, sold for CHF 490,000 (about $853,000 Cdn). It had not appeared at auction in more than 80 years and tripled its presale estimate.
• Hamburg – 10-ducat “Portugalöser”
A large gold coin produced in Hamburg between 1553 and 1566, representing one of the first major gold issues struck in Germany, realized CHF 367,500 (about $639,000 Cdn).
A rare 1937 5-ducat coin from the former Czechoslovak Republic, one of only four known examples, sold for CHF 673,750 (about C$1.2 million) during the Nov. 6 Traveller Collection auction in Zürich. (Photo courtesy of Numismatica Ars Classica)
• Kremnica – 5 ducats, 1937
With only four known examples, this modern-era rarity became the auction’s second-highest result, selling for CHF 673,750 (about $1.2 million Cdn).
• Dresden – 20 ducats, 1663
The only known specimen of this 20-ducat issue achieved CHF 171,500 (about $298,000 Cdn) – more than double its estimate.
• Poland (Cieszyn/Teschen) – 10 ducats, 1650
A portrait issue of Duchess Elisabeth Lukretia of Liechtenstein, struck after her lengthy legal battle to retain control of the Duchy of Teschen, sold for CHF 183,750 (about $320,000 Cdn), seven times its estimate.
The auction took place at Zürich’s Hotel Baur au Lac, a venue with personal significance to the collection’s anonymous “Traveller,” who reportedly stayed there during his acquisition trips across Europe in the 1930s.
Christian Stoess, former curator of medieval and early modern coins at the Berlin State Museums and cataloguer for the sale, called the auction “one of the highlights of my professional life,” citing multiple record-setting prices.
NAC director Arturo Russo said the second part of the Traveller Collection “secured its place as a milestone in the history of numismatics,” noting the autumn auction series overall hammered more than 25 million Swiss francs, including CHF 21,230,695 (about $36.9 million Cdn) from the two Traveller Collection sales to date.
Following the sale of 693 coins across the first two auctions in 2025, the Traveller Collection will continue to be offered in themed regional segments beginning in 2026.