5 Ducats - Mihály Apafi

Apafi's elevation to Prince of Transylvania in 1661 was entirely the work of Ottoman grand vizier Köprülü Ahmed Pasha, who needed a pliant ruler after deposing János Kemény. This multiple-ducat issue dates from the first years of that arrangement, when Apafi governed at Ottoman sufferance and the principality's autonomy was nominal at best. Large gold multiples of this kind functioned primarily as diplomatic gifts and presentation pieces rather than circulating currency — the Ottoman relationship demanded constant tribute in hard coin, and issues like this one moved upward through that patronage structure rather than through any market.