2 Ducats - Ferdinand and Isabella

The Dutch Republic began striking gold ducats in the late sixteenth century as a direct commercial response to the need for a universally trusted trade coin. These early issues, struck before the type fully standardized, were produced by several provincial mints operating under the loose federal structure of the young republic — attribution to a single mint is often impossible without die study.

The Ferdinand and Isabella naming is a holdover from the Habsburg monetary ordinances the Dutch provinces inherited before the revolt, not an indication of Spanish royal authority over the issue.