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1 Ducat
| Issuer | Hamburg, Free Hanseatic city of |
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| Year | 1773-1788 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central rectangular cartouche encloses the five-line Latin inscription in raised letters, framed by a plain linear border. The Hamburg castle — a three-towered fortification — is depicted above the cartouche as the city's heraldic emblem. Elaborate foliate and scrollwork ornaments flank the cartouche on either side, filling the field with decorative baroque detail. The entire design is set within a beaded border. |
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| Reverse description | Crowned imperial double-headed eagle displayed in the field, with wings spread and each head facing outward, surmounted by a single imperial crown. An orb is depicted on the breast of the eagle at the shield position. The eagle's talons grasp a sceptre and an orb. The circular Latin legend surrounding the eagle identifies the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, with the date split across the lower field beneath the eagle's tail feathers. |
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| Additional information |
Hamburg's ducats of this period were struck to the longstanding Dutch ducat standard — a deliberate choice that kept the city's coinage acceptable across northern European trade networks without requiring bilateral agreements with every counterparty. The Free City jealously guarded its minting rights as one of the few remaining emblems of imperial immediacy, and the senate treated any threat to that privilege as a constitutional matter, not merely a commercial one.
Fineness of .979 reflects the traditional ducat alloy maintained since the medieval period, marginally debased from pure gold to improve die life and striking consistency without meaningfully affecting trade acceptability.