Gold ducat · Utrecht 1761

The coin

This 1761 piece was struck at the provincial mint of Utrecht, in the Republic of the United Provinces. The obverse shows an armored knight to the right, helmeted, sword raised and a bundle of arrows — the seven provinces — with the date split beside the legs (17–61). The legend CONCORDIA RES PAR. CRES. TRA. abbreviates Concordia res parvae crescunt Traiectum: “Through concord little things grow · Utrecht.” The Utrecht shield closes the legend as the mint mark. The reverse carries, on a square tablet with scrollwork, MO. ORD. / PROVIN. / FOEDER. / BELG. AD / LEG. IMP. — Moneta ordinum provinciarum foederatarum Belgicarum ad legem imperii: “Coin of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in accordance with the law of the Empire.” Numista classifies this late obverse as KM# 7.4, Fr# 285, and Delmonte G# 965, a Utrecht type of 1739–1794: gold .986, 3.47 g, 21.7 mm, medal alignment. The edge may be cabled or plain. In account, one ducat equaled 6 gulden.

Legends

Obverse

CONCORDIA RES PAR. CRES. TRA. — Concordia res parvae crescunt Traiectum: “Through concord little things grow · Utrecht.”

Reverse

MO. ORD. PROVIN. FOEDER. BELG. AD LEG. IMP. — Moneta ordinum provinciarum foederatarum Belgicarum ad legem imperii: “Coin of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in accordance with the law of the Empire.”

History

The gold ducat is one of Europe’s longest-lived trade types. The Royal Dutch Mint places its entry in the mint act on 4 August 1586: knight, sword, bundle of arrows, and CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT. Fixed weight and fineness — about 3.5 g of .986 gold — made it welcome from the Baltic to Asia; the Dutch East India Company (VOC) used it in overseas trade, and Russia and the German states even imitated it. On 19 November 1800 Governor Philip Gidley King’s New South Wales Proclamation valued a ducat at 9 shillings and 6 pence to keep coin in the colony, so the type also belongs among Australian proclamation coins. The royal mint still strikes the gold ducat as a collector piece, with the same knight-and-tablet scheme.

Scarcity and type

Numista gives the type (1739–1794) a rarity index of 84 among its members: 1761 is not a unique date, but the provincial gold ducat is collected as a trade coin, not as local billon. Edge filing — scraping gold from the rim — is common on ducats that circulated; NGC records it as Details and withholds a numeric grade. A 1761 AU Details population census is not independently verified here; this page records this certificate.

Certification

NGC authenticates the coin and describes the wear as About Uncirculated, but the Details designation for Edge Filing withholds a numeric grade. Certificate 4685927-012 identifies this holder. Edge filing is often a mark of real use: a little gold was scraped off without piercing the coin. It limits market value against numerically graded examples.