2 Ducats

By 1789, Bern was the largest city-state north of the Alps, and its gold coinage reflected that confidence — the republic controlled enormous territorial revenues from the Vaud and maintained one of the most disciplined treasuries in the Swiss Confederation. The ducat series was struck to facilitate trade with Italian and German merchant partners who trusted Bernese gold implicitly.

The .986 fineness exceeds the Venetian ducat standard it nominally referenced, a deliberate policy choice that kept Bernese gold at a premium in foreign exchange.