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5 Ducats - Maximilian I Trade Coinage
| Issuer | Electorate of Bavaria |
|---|---|
| Year | 1640 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Ducats (5 Dukaten) (17.5) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Full-length standing figure of Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria in elaborate full plate armour, facing three-quarters to the right, holding a long sword point-down in his right hand and resting his left hand upon a table on which rest an orb and a crested helm, depicted within an interior architectural setting with tiled floor and arched doorways. A beaded inner circle frames the design, with the Latin titular legend running continuously around the outer border: MAXIMIL:COM:PAL:RH:VT:BA:DVX:S:R:I:ARCHIDAP:ET·ELECT·, identifying him as Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Upper and Lower Bavaria, Arch-Steward and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The engraving is of exceptional quality, characteristic of the Munich Mint's finest Baroque production. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Maximilian I received the electoral dignity in 1623 as direct reward for his support of the Habsburgs during the opening campaigns of the Thirty Years' War — a conflict still grinding through its final, catastrophic phase when this piece was struck in 1640. Five-ducat multiples of this type functioned primarily as presentation and trade pieces rather than everyday currency, circulating among merchants and diplomats operating across the fractured German states at a moment when Bavarian political influence was near its peak.
Fr#196 pieces from this period are notoriously variable in surface quality due to the hand-striking process used for high-denomination gold multiples at Munich.