Summary
Single ducats are coins from Austria-Hungary.
The Austrian Mint produces restrikes of the single ducat.
Single ducats are characterised by their high purity.
Single ducats are subject to value added tax in Switzerland.
Introduction to the single ducat
The Austrian Mint is one of the most important producers of investment gold. In addition to the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic, it also produces restrikes of historical coins. These restrikes are interesting for investors because they are coins that are traded much closer to the gold price than the historical originals. The restrikes are produced exactly the same as their historical counterparts.
According to Austrian law, only the Austrian Mint is allowed to produce these restrikes and is obliged to keep the fineness and weight exactly the same as the genuine old coins. One of these restrikes is the single ducat. Ducats are gold coins containing 3.44 grammes of fine gold and were produced in Venice from the Middle Ages onwards. The Austrian single ducat was introduced in the 16th century.
The appearance of the single ducat
The obverse shows the head of the young Emperor Franz-Josef I crowned with a laurel wreath.
The portrait is surrounded by the inscription "FRANC IOS I D G AVSTRIAE IMPERATOR" which means "Franz Joseph I, by the Grace of God Emperor of Austria".
The double-headed eagle of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy can be seen on the reverse. The double-headed eagle bears the imperial crown as well as the sword and orb.
The inscription "LOD ILL REX A A 1915 HVNGAR BOHEM GAL" refers to the royal titles of Lodomeria, Illyria, Hungary, Bohemia and Gallicia.
While the originals bear the respective year of minting above the double eagle, the restrikes bear the date 1915, the last year of minting.
Historical single ducats
The historical single ducats have become very rare. They were mainly not used for daily payments, but for interstate payments. As a result, they never came into circulation as much as silver coins. In addition, many of the coins were lost through wars, unrest and reparation payments to foreign countries and were melted down. As a result, the original coins are extremely rare today and their numismatic value considerably exceeds that of gold.
Fiscal peculiarity
The restrikes of the Austrian Mint are among the few bullion coins that are not exempt from VAT in Switzerland. Although the coins are produced by a state-owned mint according to legally defined standards, since the restrikes were not produced for payment transactions, they do not fall under the VAT exemption according to Swiss law. This is in contrast to their siblings, the Vienna Philharmonic, which have the character of means of payment due to their struck face value.
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