Silver Ducat gold

West Friesland's gold ducats of this period were struck under the authority of the States of West Friesland, one of the constituent voting members of the Dutch Republic, which retained the right to issue coinage independently well into the eighteenth century. The "Silver Ducat gold" designation — a persistent source of confusion — refers not to the metal but to the ducat type traditionally associated with the silver rijksdaalder lineage, here executed in gold at considerably greater weight and value. HPM#37.3 identifies a specific die marriage within Hede's typology, and pieces attributed to this reference are not uniformly encountered.