6 Ducats

Six-ducat pieces from Zürich occupy a peculiar position in Swiss civic coinage — they were struck not for commerce but almost exclusively as presentation gifts, distributed by the city council to foreign dignitaries, military officers, and imperial representatives whose goodwill Zürich needed to cultivate. By the 1730s, the practice was well-established enough that these pieces were budgeted as a diplomatic expense. Few entered circulation in any meaningful sense, which explains why survivors tend to retain considerable surface quality despite being nearly three centuries old.

Fr#484 is a rare confirmation that Zürich's mint was still producing substantial gold multiples well into the eighteenth century, a capability most Swiss city-states had quietly abandoned by this period.