10 Ducats

Zürich's multiple-ducat gold pieces of the 1720s were prestige emissions rather than circulating currency — produced for diplomatic gifts, payments to mercenary commanders, and the kind of ceremonial exchange that cemented the city's standing among the Swiss cantons and their foreign allies. A 10-ducat piece represented roughly two months' wages for a skilled craftsman, which meant almost none entered everyday trade.

The Hürlimann reference places this firmly within the documented sequence of Zürich's large-format gold, a series notorious among collectors for die-linked variants that the standard references only partially reconcile. Faesch's 1725 mint accounts record irregular striking sessions for the heaviest gold denominations — almost certainly connected to this issue.