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1 Ducat - Christian

Issuer Rantzau, County of
Year 1655-1658
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Weight 3.49 g
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Reverse description Elaborate quartered heraldic achievement of the Rantzau family displayed in the field, composed of multiple coats of arms surmounted by three ornate crowns above the shield and flanked by decorative acanthus scroll mantling. The date is divided in two parts on either side of the lower portion of the shield, here reading 16-56. Two additional crowned helm crests are visible above the flanking shields. The surrounding circular Latin legend DEO DVCE COMITE FORTVNA, meaning 'With God as leader and Fortune as companion,' runs along the outer border within a beaded circle.
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Edge Plain
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Additional information

The County of Rantzau was a tiny imperial immediacy in Holstein, elevated to county status in 1650 when Christian Rantzau received the dignity from Emperor Ferdinand III. The ducat issue followed shortly after — essentially an assertion of the minting rights that came with comital rank. Such small territories often struck coins in negligible quantities, more as political declarations than as circulating currency.

Fewer than a handful of specimens are documented in major collections. Fr#2449 is among the rarer Friedberg gold entries for the Holstein region.

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