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3 Ducats
| Issuer | City of Bern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1734 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 3 Ducats |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A four-line Latin devotional inscription reading BENEDICTUS / SIT IEHOVA / DEUS / 1734 is displayed within a boldly rendered Baroque cartouche featuring symmetrical acanthus scroll ornaments and a shell motif at the apex. The cartouche occupies virtually the entire field, leaving a narrow plain border. The lettering is in raised Roman capitals with the date appearing on the lowest line. The overall design is characteristic of the refined Baroque engraving tradition of the Bernese Republic. |
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| Additional information |
Bern's multi-ducat gold issues of the early eighteenth century were prestige pieces — struck not for commerce but for presentation, diplomatic gifts, and the gratification of the patrician families who controlled the city-republic's oligarchic government. The 1734 date falls squarely within a period of Bernese fiscal confidence built on mercenary revenues and the careful management of a public treasury that was, by Swiss cantonal standards, genuinely formidable.
Pieces of this type rarely circulated, which is why survivors tend to appear in better preservation than the date might suggest.