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an image of a gold coin with a depiction of the birth of jesusa gold coin with an image of a man and woman in a bathtub
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David Monteillet

108 - "Germany, Hamburg: undated 10-ducat gold presentation medal …
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Estimate €15,000 - €16,000
Sale commission
Description
"Germany, Hamburg: undated 10-ducat gold presentation medal (first quarter of the 17th century). Obverse: + MOSES • VIRGA • PRODVXIT • AQVAM • DE • PETRA • PPLO • ISRAEL • ET • MORTVI • SVNT Moses is depicted standing, facing right, holding his staff with which he strikes a rock from which a spring gushes forth. Around him stand the people of Israel, drinking from the newly formed stream. In the background are a camp of tents and a tree; in the upper part, rays of light descend from the clouds. This depicts the encounter between Christ and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, as recounted in the Gospel according to Saint John (chapter 4). During this conversation, Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah and explains to the Samaritan woman the difference between the physical water of the well, which only temporarily quenches thirst, and the ‘living water’, God’s gift flowing from Christ, which satisfies man’s spiritual thirst and becomes the source of eternal life. The inscription refers to the verse: ‘Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst; indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ (John 4:14) Reverse: + QVI • VERO • BIBERIT • AQVAM • CHRISTO • DANTE • NON • MORIETVR • IN • ÆTERNVM Christ is seated, facing right, near a well; to his left stands the Samaritan woman carrying a jug. In the background is a view of the biblical city of Sychar. This is an episode from the Old Testament, recounted in the Book of Numbers (chapter 20). After their exodus from Egypt, the Hebrews crossed the Sinai Desert. The people of Israel lost faith in God and in Moses, their guide and mediator. The Israelites once again reproached Moses and his brother Aaron for having led them into a barren desert where they risked dying of thirst. After imploring God in the Tent of Meeting, Moses is commanded to strike a rock with his staff in full view of the whole assembly. He obeys and causes water to gush forth, sufficient for the survival of the people and their livestock. However, because Moses and Aaron had failed to give glory to God before the assembly and had themselves shown a lack of trust in Him, God condemned them to never enter the Promised Land of Canaan. This medal thus draws a parallel between two major biblical episodes in which water is a symbol of life: in the Old Testament, the physical water that saves the Hebrew people from death; in the New Testament, the living water of Christ, which leads to eternal life. Extremely rare, we have found only one example, which has appeared at auction four times (UBS 72 (5/9/2007) lot 268; Hess Divo Auction 325 (23/10/2013) lot 722; Teutoburger Munzauktion 93 (29 May 2015) lot 2300 and Kunker auction 271 (4 February 2016) lot 181). The attribution of this medal has varied considerably; here we shall adopt Kunker’s conservative view, attributing it to Hamburg in the early 17th century; Almost superb; 35.06 g; 53.8 mm; Kunker271.181"
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About the sale The Agénor de Senger Collection – Sale by designation – Ancient, French, feudal and foreign coins
Auction location
Auction time 10/01/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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