2017-06-14 Wed

The gold ducat is one of the most popular coins among collectors of European coins. "Ducat" comes from the Latin word ducatus, or the duke’s coin. They are made of 3.5 grams of over 97% pure gold.

The coins are also available in two-, four-, six- and ducats and 10-ducat coins. Their weights are proportionally incremental based on the weight of a one-ducat coin. They were mainly minted for trade purposes from the 13th to 20th Century, making it the world’s most successful coins. The coins are still being produced in Europe like the zecchino-type, the Austrian-type, the Ferdinand and Isabella or Spanish type, and the Dutch-type. They are also issued in collector versions by countries like the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The "first" gold ducats called zecchino were minted by the duke of Venice in 1284 after the debasement of the gold hyperpyron by emperor of the Byzantine Empire - Michael VIII Palaiologos.

The debasement affected trade between Venice and eastern Mediterranean. The Great Council of Venice decided to produce gold ducats with higher fineness. There was no looking back and the coin was used popularly over several centuries even though its iconography changed from time to time at different regions!