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1 Ducat - Frederick I
| Issuer | Kingdom of Prussia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1703-1704 |
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| Diameter | 22 mm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of Frederick I, King of Prussia, facing right, with an elaborate long curled wig rendered in fine baroque style. The king wears a laurel wreath over his flowing periwig, with the truncation of the bust at the bottom of the field bearing the mint-master's initials C·F·L·. The surrounding Latin legend reads FRID·D·G·REX BORUSS·EL·BR· C·F·L·, abbreviating his titles as King of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg. The portrait is boldly modelled in high relief, characteristic of early eighteenth-century German medallic art. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Frederick I had himself crowned King in Prussia at Königsberg in January 1701 — notably crowning himself, to avoid acknowledging any superior authority. The ducats issued in the first years of his reign were struck in the older German ducat standard his predecessors had used as Electors of Brandenburg, a deliberate continuity signal from a ruler otherwise obsessed with projecting novelty. Berlin's mint infrastructure at this date was still catching up to royal ambitions, and the 1703–1704 issues are notably scarce relative to later Frederician gold.