A  collection of coins from Transylvania highlights Editions Victor Gadoury’s Oct. 25 auction.

The Oct. 25 auction will focus on seven different collections, but the “undisputed highlight” of the auction is the collection with coins from Transylvania, the firm said.

The “Beyond the Woods” Collection features 85 lots of coins from Transylvania, which is at the geographical center of Romania today and with the Carpathian Mountains its border to the east and the south.

Coins of Transylvania are in high demand by collectors, according to the firm, especially because they include some extremely rare and historically exciting pieces. The coins tell the story of how a small region caught between the great powers of the West and the East managed to remain relatively independent of both for many years.

Sale highlights

One highlight is a 1607 gold 10-ducat coin of Sigismund Rákóczi issued in Kolozsvár (modern-day Cluj-Napoca).

Rákoczi was one of the richest men in the country and ruled for a short time before withdrawing to his personal life to avoid a civil war, the firm said.

Graded About Uncirculated 55 by Numismatic Guaranty Co., the coin has a pre-sale estimate of €75,000 ($81,834 U.S.).

One subequent ruler after Rákóczi stepped down was Gabriel Bethlen, who reigned from 1613 to 1629.

A Calvinist, he made a pact with the Turks against the Catholic Habsburgs. With Ottoman support, he became a central figure in the Thirty Years’ War, according to the auction house.

“Whether he is described as an enlightened prince or a cruel plunderer depends on which country the historian comes from. In this regard, historiography still follows the propaganda of the Thirty Years’ War,” the firm said.

Leading this section is a 1629 Bethlen silver double taler coin. Graded Extremely Fine-40 by NGC, the coin has a pre-sale estimate of €30,000 ($32,719 U.S.).

His circa 1620 to 1621 10-ducat-sized gold medal, graded AU-58 by NGC, has a pre-sale estimate of €75,000 ($81,834 U.S.).

For full details of the sale, visit the firm’s website, gadoury.com.

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