Description
Hungary, Sigismund (1387-1437), gold Goldgulden, early issue 1387 – 1401, Buda mint, •S• LADISLAVS • RЄX, crowned, nimbate, mantled figure of St. Ladislaus standing facing, axe in right hand, orb in left; I-V to either side. Rev. +SIGISmVnDI •D•G•R • VnGARIЄ, quartered shield, 3.53g ( Fr. 9; Husz. 572; Lengyel – unlisted).
In NGC holder graded MS 64, sharply struck and well-centred, with only one other examples in this grade population and only one other known finer.
Sigismund was the son of Charles IV, King of Bohemia (1346 – 1378) and became the king of Hungary through his marriage to Maria, being crowned in 1387. He learned the Magyar language and became devoted to his adopted country. In 1396 he led a multinational army of Crusaders against the Ottoman Turks, narrowly escaping from a catastrophic defeat at Nicopolis on the banks of the Danube in Bulgaria. In 1433, Sigismund was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Sigismund’s gold coins fall into two groups: early issues have a royal coat of arms quartering the horizontal stripes of Hungary with the German eagle and later issues that feature the quartered shield with the stripes of Hungary with the lion of Bohemia.
