1 Ducat - Willem I Type 1

Willem I was restored to the Netherlands in late 1813 after nearly two decades of French dominance, and the ducat was one of the first gold denominations struck under the new Kingdom — a deliberate nod to the Republic-era trade ducats that Dutch merchants had trusted for over two centuries. The decision to revive the type was as much commercial as political: Dutch trading partners across the Baltic and Levant still measured gold in ducats and wouldn't accept unfamiliar coinage at face value.

The Type 1 designation separates this early emission from later reworked dies. Production ran only through 1816 before design revisions prompted a new classification, keeping the window for this specific type narrow.