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4 Ducats
| Issuer | Canton of Bern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1825 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | HMZ 1#2-227a, Fr#178, Divo/Tob17#28 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Within a finely rendered open laurel wreath tied at the base, the denomination and date are inscribed in three lines across the central field: IV / DUCAT / 1825. The religious legend BENEDICTUS SIT IEHOVA DEUS encircles the design along the upper and lower periphery, all contained within a beaded border. The overall composition is clean and heraldic in character, consistent with the neoclassical style prevalent in early nineteenth-century Swiss cantonal coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Bern struck four-ducat pieces in this period primarily for presentation and trade purposes rather than everyday exchange — the denomination was simply too valuable for ordinary commerce in a Swiss canton still operating largely on a bimetallic silver and small coin economy. The 1825 issue falls within Bern's final decades as a sovereign cantonal power before the federal reorganization of 1848 fundamentally restructured Swiss monetary authority.
The .986 fineness follows the traditional ducat standard maintained across European trade coinage since the medieval period, allowing these pieces to circulate internationally by weight and purity rather than by any local monetary convention.