A rare 1609 gold coin minted for Spain’s King Philip III is expected to become the most valuable coin in European history as it heads to auction in Switzerland on Monday. The massive 339-gram piece, known as the Centen or 100 escudos, carries a starting price of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.48 million), according to the Geneva-based Numismatica Genevensis SA auction house.
“This coin will certainly break the record of the most expensive European coin of all time,” auction director Frank Baldacci told Reuters. The current record stands at 1.95 million Swiss francs ($2.42 million) for a 100-ducat coin once owned by Ferdinand III of Habsburg.
Minted in Segovia from gold sourced from Spanish expeditions to the Americas, the coin was created as a demonstration of royal power and immense wealth, auction house founder Alain Baron said. Its value at the time was equivalent to many years of earnings, making it the largest coin produced in Europe during the modern era.
The coin disappeared for centuries before resurfacing in the United States around 1950, where it was purchased by a New York collector. It later changed hands to a Spanish buyer and then to another private collector, whose identity remains undisclosed.
Baron noted that the Centen was likely intended as a diplomatic gift among royals. “The next owner will in some way have the possibility to be equal to a king since it is a king who gave it to another king,” he said.
The auction house reported strong interest from buyers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East — including institutions — who view the coin as a rare “trophy asset.”
With its unmatched history, size, and craftsmanship, experts say the 1609 Centen is poised to set a new benchmark in European numismatic records.
