5 Ducats

Basel's five-ducat pieces of this period were struck as presentation coins rather than circulating currency — heavy multiples of this kind were produced in limited quantities for diplomatic gifts, civic ceremonies, and the occasional lucrative sale to foreign collectors already accumulating Swiss gold. The city-republic's mint operated under strict guild oversight, and output of high-denomination multiples was tightly controlled by the council.

KM# 159 is seldom encountered, and survivors are almost invariably in better preservation for the simple reason that few ever left a cabinet.