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50 Ducats - Ferdinand III Coronation
| Issuer | Kingdom of Bohemia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1629 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 75 mm |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Elaborately garnished and crowned coat-of-arms of the Habsburg dynasty, supported on either side by rampant dragons, with the Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece suspended beneath the shield. The armorial achievement is rendered in intricate high-relief baroque style befitting a royal coronation commemorative piece. The date 1629 is divided across the lower portion of the field, flanking the shield. The peripheral legend AVSTRIÆ ARCHIDVX occupies the outer border, identifying Ferdinand III as Archduke of Austria. |
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| Reverse lettering | AVSTRIÆ ARCHIDVX 16 29 |
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| Additional information |
Ferdinand III was crowned King of Bohemia in November 1627, but the production of presentation gold in multiple-ducat denominations to mark the occasion stretched across the following years as the court commissioned pieces of escalating weight and elaboration. This 50-ducat piece — 172 grams of gold struck on a massive hand-prepared planchet — was never currency in any functional sense. These were diplomatic gifts, treasury showpieces, objects meant to impress foreign envoys and reward loyal magnates in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of White Mountain and the forced re-Catholicization of Bohemia.
Striking a flan of this diameter required sequential hammer blows, and collar-free production at this scale almost guarantees subtle planchet irregularities specific to the individual piece.