10 Ducats - Christophe Vidman St Veit

The Counts of Ortenburg occupied a peculiar position in the Holy Roman Empire — a Protestant enclave surrounded by Catholic Bavaria, their autonomy constantly under legal siege from the Wittelsbachs throughout the seventeenth century. Multiple ducats were struck in this period partly as assertions of comital rights, minting authority among them. Christoph Widmann served as mintmaster at St. Veit, and his signature pieces from Ortenburg are among the most substantial gold issues attributable to this tiny county.

Ten-ducat multiples from minor imperial lordships of this period rarely saw circulation; they functioned as presentation pieces or diplomatic gifts. Fr#563 is recorded in very few collections.