12 Dukat - Wolter von Plettenberg Wenden

Wolter von Plettenberg was the greatest military commander the Livonian Order ever produced, having defeated a vastly larger Muscovite army at the Battle of Smolina in 1502 — a victory that secured the Order's eastern frontier for a generation. This 12-dukat piece was struck in 1525, the same year the Teutonic Order in Prussia was secularized under Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach, an event that sent shockwaves through every remaining branch of the crusading orders. Plettenberg refused to follow suit, keeping Livonia Catholic and independent.

Multiple-dukat presentation pieces of this weight were minted as diplomatic gifts rather than circulating currency. The Fed#479 variety distinction matters here — collector documentation of this type remains sparse enough that unrecorded die states still surface.