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Ducatus Trade Coinage
| Issuer | Republic of Geneva Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1644-1657 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A crowned double-headed imperial eagle displayed in the center of the field, with the arms of the Republic of Geneva — featuring a key and an eagle — emblazoned on a shield at the breast. The eagle's wings are spread and detailed with fine feathering, and an imperial crown surmounts the heads above. A circular Latin legend runs along the periphery, separated by dot and star stops, reading the Genevan Reformation motto POST TENEBRAS LVX, with the mintmaster's initials appended. The whole is enclosed within a beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 1644 B - - 1645 B - - 1646 B - - 1647 G - - 1648 G - - 1649 G - - 1650 M - - 1651 M - - 1652 M - - 1654 AB - - 1657 DS - - |
| Additional information |
Geneva's gold ducat issues of the mid-seventeenth century were minted under considerable political pressure, as the Republic navigated its precarious position between the expansionist ambitions of Savoy and the fractious politics of the Swiss Confederacy. The city had only recently consolidated its mint operations following decades of irregular coinage, and the decision to strike to the ducat standard was a deliberate bid for commercial credibility with Italian and German trading partners.
The HMZ reference places this among a tightly documented sequence. Surviving examples in high grade are genuinely scarce — Geneva's output never approached the volume of the larger Confederate cantons.