3 Ducats

Bern's multi-ducat issues of the early eighteenth century were prestige pieces produced for diplomatic gifts and honoraria rather than everyday commerce — the city's merchant oligarchy used them to grease relationships with foreign powers and reward military officers. The 1707 date places this coin in the period immediately following the War of the Spanish Succession, when Swiss cantons were actively cultivating alliances on both sides of the conflict.

The .986 fineness is notably purer than most contemporary German imperial ducats, which typically ran at .979. A deliberate choice, signaling Bernese fiscal reliability to recipients who knew exactly what to look for.