50 Ducats - Ferdinand III Coronation

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.