Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Ducat
(927 words)

One of the successful, early European gold coins of the Middle Ages was the zecchino (“sequin”; from Italian zecca/zechacoin) minted from 1284 in Venice. The obverse shows the Doge kneeling before St. Mark, the reverse a standing Christ figure - both within a mandorla. The coins acquired the name “ducat” because of the last word of the inscription (Sit tibi Christe datus quem tu regis iste ducatus = “O, Christ, let this duchy, which you rule, be dedicated unto you”). Venetian ducats were made of the finest gold that was possible to refine at the time, an…

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Schneider, Konrad, “Ducat”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_018480>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170626



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