Catalog
1 Ducat
| Issuer | Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1497 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.46 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Within a pointed vesica (mandorla) bordered by beads, the standing figure of the archangel Gabriel is depicted facing forward, his right hand raised in salutation and his left holding a staff or sceptre; the scene references the Annunciation. The surrounding circular legend, in Gothic uncial characters with rosette stops, reads AVE PLENA GRACIA followed by the date 1497. The reverse design closely mirrors the obverse in its mandorla framing and stylistic treatment, consistent with Hamburg ducat coinage of the late fifteenth century. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Hamburg's ducats of the late fifteenth century were struck to the Rhenish standard, which allowed them to circulate freely across the major trade networks connecting the North Sea ports to the Rhine valley and beyond. The city had been minting gold since the 1340s, and by 1497 its coinage carried enough commercial credibility that Hamburg ducats were accepted by weight and reputation rather than requiring assay at each transaction.
The Friedberg 1100 reference places this among the earlier Hamburg gold types before the city's minting practices were restructured in the sixteenth century.