10 Ducats - Gustav Adolphus II

Erfurt in 1632 was not simply a city at war — it was the operational headquarters of the Swedish army in the Empire, occupied by Gustav Adolf's forces following his crossing of the Baltic in 1630. The city struck this multiple ducat almost certainly as a presentation piece, the kind of high-denomination gold issue that served as a diplomatic gift or military reward rather than anything approaching circulation. Gustav Adolf himself was killed at Lützen in November of that same year.