Petr Vok z Rožmberka issued this ducat at a moment when the Rosenberg dominion — the last great Bohemian noble house to mint its own gold coinage — was already in financial freefall. Chronic debt forced Petr Vok to sell Český Krumlov to Emperor Rudolf II in 1601, effectively ending the family's territorial power six years after this coin was struck.
The right to mint gold was a jealously guarded privilege, and Petr Vok's ducats are among the final exercises of that right by a Bohemian noble before the Habsburgs consolidated control over regional coinage. KH#45 is scarce; the Rosenberg mint operated sporadically, and surviving gold pieces from this lordship are substantially rarer than the silver issues.
Petr Vok z Rožmberka issued this ducat at a moment when the Rosenberg dominion — the last great Bohemian noble house to mint its own gold coinage — was already in financial freefall. Chronic debt forced Petr Vok to sell Český Krumlov to Emperor Rudolf II in 1601, effectively ending the family's territorial power six years after this coin was struck.
The right to mint gold was a jealously guarded privilege, and Petr Vok's ducats are among the final exercises of that right by a Bohemian noble before the Habsburgs consolidated control over regional coinage. KH#45 is scarce; the Rosenberg mint operated sporadically, and surviving gold pieces from this lordship are substantially rarer than the silver issues.