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4 Ducats Gold pattern strike
| Issuer | City of Basel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1740 |
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| Currency | Thaler (1621- 1798) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A detailed panoramic view of the city of Basel is engraved across the central field, depicting the Rhine riverfront with the city's characteristic skyline of towers, walls, spires, and buildings rendered in fine pictorial style. Above the cityscape, an arched garland of eight oval shields bearing the cantonal and allied arms of the Swiss Confederation frames the upper portion of the design. The city name BASILEA is inscribed in the upper field within the arch of shields, while the date 1740 appears in the lower exergue, flanked by small floral ornaments. A beaded border encircles the entire composition. |
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| Mint | Basel Mint |
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| Additional information |
Basel's pattern issues of this period occupy a genuinely peculiar niche in Swiss numismatics — struck not for circulation but almost certainly as presentation pieces for city councillors or visiting dignitaries, a practice the city maintained well into the eighteenth century. The 1740 date places this squarely in the long administrative tenure of the city's merchant oligarchy, whose grip on the mint was effectively absolute.
The HMZ 2-102c reference confirms the extreme rarity designation applied to this type. Fewer than a handful of examples are traceable across major auction records.