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1 Ducat - Frederik V
| Issuer | Danish West Indies (1730-1917) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1749 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Ducat (2) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The crowned royal arms of the Danish West Indies Company displayed at centre, depicting a quartered shield surmounted by an ornate royal crown in high relief. The shield incorporates the three lions of Denmark in the upper quarters and three crowns of Sweden in the lower quarters, flanked on either side by tropical flora including sugar cane and exotic fauna emblematic of the West Indian colonies. The mint master's initials V·H· appear in the lower exergual area beneath the shield, while the Latin motto legend encircles the entire device along the toothed milled rim. |
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| Mintage | 1749 VH |
| Additional information |
Frederik V commissioned this ducat as part of a deliberate effort to assert Danish commercial authority over the Caribbean trade routes at a moment when the Danish West India and Guinea Company had recently been dissolved and the islands taken under direct Crown control in 1754 — though this piece predates that transition, striking it places it squarely in the final years of company administration. Danish ducats of this Caribbean issue are among the most elusive colonial gold of the eighteenth century; the Crown's Atlantic trade volume never justified large mintages, and attrition through commerce, melting, and shipwreck has been severe.