Replica of Charles IV ducat standard

The oldest Czech ducat replica marking the 620^th anniversary of death of the Father of the Nation

The first Czech gold medal, so-called John of Luxembourg’s florin, was replaced with the oldest ducat coinage at the beginning of Charles IV rule. Contrary to the florin, the ducat featured bust of the king on one side and the Czech lion on the other. Charles IV coined two types of ducats. This replica represents the first type, royal, featuring an effigy of the ruler as a young beardless man with the royal crown. The second type, imperial, depicts the bearded ruler with the imperial crown. The ducats were designed by the pattern of Italian coins called zecchino which bore a shortened text in circumscription “SITTXTEDATQTVREGISISTEDVCAT“ standing for “Sit tibi Christe datus quem tu regis iste ducatus“. The name of the coin originated from the last word of the text in circumscription. For their high fineness (23 1/2 carat) and stable weight (3.5 g) ducats soon became a basic gold nominal tender in most European countries. However, for lack of local raw material, the Czech ducat was not as widespread as for example the Hungarian ducat.