In 1140 AD, Roger II of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, struck a coin in silver known as a ducat. It bore the inscription Sit tibi, Christe, datus, quem tu regis, iste ducatus - Lord, thou rulest this duchy, to thee be it dedicated - thus the name. Little did he know what it was that he had started, for the ducat was to become possibly the single most important coin the world has ever known.

In the early 14th century the Abbot of Tournai, Gilles Li Muisis, made a rather astute comment. En monnoies est li cose moult obscure Elles vont haut et bas, se ne set-on que faire Quand on guide wagnier, on troeve le contraire.

Translation - "Coins are the most obscure things. Their value rises and falls, and one does not know what to do. When one thinks that he has gained, he finds the contrary - that he has lost".

You see, during the Middle Ages, the value of silver coins was constantly changing. This was due to the coins themselves changing. Every time a ruler needed additional funds he would either create or raise taxes - or he would change the coinage by making the coins thinner and of less weight or he would debase the metal content. This was not peculiar to any particular nation or ruler - they all did it from time to time, especially in time of war. And as a result the various other nations and city states would not accept foreign coinage at the values set by the originators of the coinage. Instead, all foreign coinage was assayed and a value set by the nation conducting the assay. This practice continued with silver coins well into the 19th century and perhaps beyond in some cases. It was an expensive and time consuming, but necessary practice. And it did nothing but hinder the spread of trade which all nations were dependent upon if they were to survive. For trade is the lifeblood of any nation.

In the early middle ages, the striking of gold coins was primarily limited to the East, or the Byzantine and Islamic Empires. In the West, silver was the coinage metal of choice. But several factors caused this to change. Among them the Crusades which caused feelings of hatred towards the Islamic world and their coinage. And with the capture of Constantinople early in the 13th century the seat of economic power moved to the West. With this came the huge increase of the flow of gold to the West from the mines in Africa, as well as from the newly discovered gold mines in Europe.

By the late 13th century it was the city state of Venice that controlled trade throughout the Mediterranean. And the Venetians knew that if they wanted to consolidate and further increase their power and influence that they needed a coin that would be accepted by all nations. For such a coin would allow trade to flow freely and easily and greatly facilitate payment for goods.

Many references list Giovanni Dandolo as the originator of the Venetian ducat in 1284. But it was actually in 1274 when the Doge of Venice, Lorenzo Tiepolo, began minting a gold coin with the image of the Doge kneeling before St. Mark on the obverse and the figure of Christ on the reverse - and thus the gold ducat was born. It was a coin weighing 3.5 grams and struck in .986 gold. These specifications for the ducat would remain the same for the next 700 plus years. It continues to be struck even today. Not since the Roman Empire, had a coin of gold been struck that would capture the trust of all nations and be as enduring as the ducat. (A few years prior to this, the city state of Florence had begun minting another gold coin known as the florin. But its specifications would change many times over the centuries.)

The popularity of this coin quickly spread throughout Europe and even beyond to most areas of the Middle East and including India, Egypt and Africa. For here, at last, was a coin that allowed any nation of the world to trade with another and have a uniform method of payment. In all cases, the specifications of the coin were the same - 3.5 grams of .986 gold. In later years, the ducat was also struck in fractions and multiples - from as small as 1/32 ducat to as large as the extremely rare 100 ducats.

The ducat has been struck in endless varieties and designs, from round to square, by well over 300 entities. Among the more important and well known are the most of the Italian city states such as Venice, Rome, Genoa, Florence, and most of the European nations including - Austria and its city states, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Denmark, Hungary, France, England, Scotland, Germany and its city states, Czechoslovakia, Liechtenstein, Romania, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Switzerland and Latvia. In the east, the cities of Constantinople, Acre, Phocaea, and Achaia struck ducats. Even the Greek islands of Chios, Rhodes, and Lesbos issued ducats. Many who struck ducats did not even bother to change the design or the legends. They just copied the coin as is and issued it to facilitate international trade.

The first ducat, issued by Venice, looked much like one at the right. It was struck by Antonio Venier, 1382 - 1400. In later years, these coins came to be known as zecchinno d'oro, so called after la zecca - the mint. The design continued basically the same until 1797 until Venice was captured by Napoleon.

1382-1400 Venetian Ducat

- AUSTRIA -

Austria issued its first gold ducat in 1511. But even that was preceded by the issuance of a 7 ducat coin by the Archduke Sigismund from the Hall mint in 1486. The best known Austrian ducats are those struck under Franz Joseph like the coin at the left.

They were continually issued in many denominations from as small as 1/16 ducat to 50 ducats. Austria continued to strike regular issue ducats until 1914. In 1915 they began to issue re-strikes dated 1915 - all Austrian ducats dated 1915 are re-strikes. Between the years of 1920 and 1936, 996,721 of these 1 ducat re-strikes were struck. During the same period, 496,501 of the 1915 4 ducat coins were also issued as official re-strikes.

By the beginning of the 16th century the center of trade had shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and the North Sea. This was largely due to the discoveries made in the New World. And since these discoveries were largely under Spanish control, the Spanish Netherlands soon became the center of international trade. Silver began to flow from the New World into Europe at a prodigious rate - as did gold. But silver was used primarily for everyday commerce. But when it came to trade - gold was still king. Between 1492 and 1550 sixty tons of gold was funneled into Europe. And it seems that all roads led eventually to the Netherlands. The "Dover Road", the "Spanish Road", even the overland routes through France led to the Netherlands. And so the Netherlands ducat became the primary trade coin for the world.

The Netherlands (Holland) issued its first ducat in 1487 under the rule of Philip the Fair 1482 - 1494. The ducats were issued by many of the Netherlands' provinces in various designs with that of St. Andrew/reverse arms being the most common. But in 1586 the design used by all the states was changed to be much like the coin to the right.

The obverse of the coin shows a knight holding a bundle of arrows. The bundle of arrows signify the unity of the northern provinces which banded together and signed the Union of Utrecht in 1579 which was their declaration of independence from Spain. The motto on the obverse - CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT (union makes small things grow ) is also a symbol of that unity. It has never been exactly determined how the the legend of the reverse - MONETA ORDINUM PROVINCIARUM FOEDERATARUM BELGII AD LEGEM IMPERII ( coin of the provinces of the United Netherlands according to the law of the empire ) came to be. But it was perhaps copied from a Moroccan dinar.

Over the years, as the pictures below will show, the design was changed very little and the specifications of 3.51 grams of .986 gold never altered. Even today, the Netherlands still issues this coin as a collector's item and bullion coin. After more than 400 years it still has the same basic design and the same specifications. It is surpassed only by the Venetian ducat as the coin with the greatest longevity.

The various German city states issued ducats in many designs and denominations. And as anyone who is familiar with German coinage knows, between all the Cities, Counts, Dukes, Bishoprics and other governmental entities that were authorized to issue coinage over the years, there is a veritable smorgasbord of ducats that have been issued. The earliest known example I am aware of is a ½ ducat issued by the city of Lubek in the year 1300. They were issued almost continuously until the coming of the German Empire in 1871. The Friedberg catalog, Gold Coins of the World, contains no less than 130 pages often containing nothing but ducats.

Often they were used to commemorate historical events such as the Augsburg Confession. The example to the right was struck in 1730 in honor of the Bicentennial of this event.

The only exception to the rule of the gold ducat being struck in .986 gold that I am aware of are those struck in Hamburg with a fineness of .979 during the years from 1801 through 1872. The example to the left is only 1 of 10 different designs for this group of coins struck in Hamburg during this period.

Over the centuries, many of the same countries which struck ducats in gold also struck them in silver. As was mentioned in the beginning, the very first ducat was struck in silver. They were known by various names such as ducatto and ducaton. They were not always of the same fineness nor were they of the same value. But the name itself had become a symbol of trust and reliability throughout the world.

To be sure, ducats circulated. But their primary purpose was as a trade coin. For they allowed the various nations of the world to trade freely with each other and have a method of payment that was accepted by all in any of their various forms and denominations. There is little doubt that without the advent of the ducat - the world would not be as we now know it.

Today, the US dollar is the currency that is accepted world wide; and before the dollar it was the British pound. But the gold ducat stands out above all other coins as having achieved acceptability over the known world based on its reputation and specifications. For centuries the ducat held the position of being the world's currency. No other coin can make that claim.