History of coins · 1284
1284: The Venetian ducat
Venice introduces the gold ducat – a coin struck with almost unchanged weight and design for more than 500 years.
In 1284, the Republic of Venice began striking its gold ducat, about 3.5 grams of very pure gold. It shows the Doge kneeling before St Mark and, on the other side, Christ.
The ducat – later called zecchino – was struck until the end of the Republic in 1797 and became one of the most trusted trade coins from Europe to the Levant. The word 'ducat' was adopted by many other countries for their gold coins.
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