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2 Ducats Late type, piedfort of double weight
| Issuer | States of West Friesland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1696 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A standing armored knight in full relief occupies the center of the field, holding a bundle of arrows — the symbol of the United Provinces — in his right hand, with the date divided on either side of the figure. The knight is enclosed within a broken or interrupted beaded circle, lending a characteristic Dutch Republic ducat aesthetic. The surrounding legend, rendered in Roman capitals, reads CONCORDIA · RES PARVÆ · CRES · WEST 1696, the provincial motto of West Friesland affirming that unity strengthens small nations. The overall design follows the established late-type ducat standard used by the Dutch provincial mints in the late 17th century. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Milled |
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| Additional information |
West Friesland's piedfort ducats occupy an awkward category — too heavy for circulation, too irregular for diplomatic presentation sets, and too well-made for simple trial strikes. The most plausible explanation is that they were produced for assay purposes or as collector pieces for the burgeoning Dutch cabinet trade, which was already sophisticated enough by the 1690s to sustain a market for such things.
The HPM reference places this among a small, documented group. Survivors are rare enough that auction appearances generate genuine competition among specialists in provincial Dutch gold.