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1 Ducat
| Issuer | Hamburg, Free Hanseatic city of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835-1842 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | NVMVS. AVREVS HAMBVRGENSIS. 18 42. |
| Reverse description | A five-line Latin inscription is displayed within a square frame, the text recording the coin's weight and fineness standard according to the Cologne mark. Decorative ornamental borders adorn each side of the outer frame, giving the reverse a formal, heraldic character consistent with Hamburg's civic coinage tradition. The lettering references the coin's assay value of 23½ carats and its equivalence of 67 pieces to the Cologne mark weight. |
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| Additional information |
Hamburg's municipal gold coinage occupied a peculiar legal position well into the nineteenth century — the city-state retained its minting rights long after neighboring German territories had surrendered theirs to larger powers, and these ducats circulated alongside the issues of kingdoms three hundred times Hamburg's size. The city's commercial dominance in Baltic and North Sea trade gave the ducat genuine utility; merchants along the Hamburg Bourse knew its weight and fineness without need of assay.
The .979 fineness fractionally exceeds the standard .986 fine ducat specification common elsewhere in the German states, a subtle distinction that mattered to Hamburg's counting houses.