3 Ducati - Ferdinando II

Ferdinando II ascended the Neapolitan throne in 1830 at age twenty and almost immediately set about distancing his administration from the liberal concessions his father had been pressured into granting. These gold ducati were struck during the early consolidation of his reign, a period when the Two Sicilies mint was functioning with unusual regularity under tightened Bourbon fiscal control. The series ran only until 1837, after which denominations and types were reorganized.

The .996 fineness is exceptionally high for a circulating gold issue of this period — finer than most contemporary European sovereigns or ducats.