20 Ducat - Max Gandolf von Kuenburg

Max Gandolf von Kuenburg, Archbishop of Salzburg from 1668 to 1687, came to power during a period when the prince-archbishops were aggressively reasserting Catholic authority in the region — his tenure would later include the forced expulsion of Protestant miners from the Defereggen Valley in 1684. This 20-ducat piece, struck in his accession year, belongs to a tradition of high-denomination gold multiples that functioned less as currency than as diplomatic gifts and demonstrations of the archbishopric's considerable independent wealth, much of it flowing from the Salzburg salt trade.

At 70 grams of nearly pure gold, these were presentation pieces from the moment of striking. The Zöttl reference places it among the documented rarities of the Salzburg series.