10 Gold Ducat - Mihai Viteazul

Mihai Viteazul's 1600 ducat was struck at a pivotal and extraordinarily brief political moment — the year he simultaneously held Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia, the only time in history a single ruler controlled all three Romanian principalities. The union lasted less than a year before Habsburg and Polish intervention dismantled it, and Mihai was assassinated in August 1601.

Fr#1 designation reflects just how singular this piece is in Friedberg's gold coinage references. Surviving examples are exceptionally rare, and the question of whether multiple dies were used or a single working die accounts for all known strikes remains unresolved among specialists.