Vierfach Dukaten Österreich Gold

Summary

• Quadruple ducats are coins from Austria-Hungary.

• The Austrian Mint produces restrikes of the quadruple ducat.

• Quadruple ducats are characterised by their high purity.

• Quadruple ducats are subject to value added tax in Switzerland.

Introduction to the quadruple 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, in contrast to the historical originals, are traded much closer to the gold price. The restrikes are made 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 quadruple ducat. Ducats are gold coins containing 3.44 grammes of fine gold and were produced in Venice from the Middle Ages onwards. The Austrian quadruple ducat was introduced in the 16th century and, as its name suggests, contains four times the amount of gold, i.e. 13.77 grammes.

The appearance of the quadruple ducat

The obverse shows the shoulder and 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 quadruple ducats

The historical quadruple 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, riots 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 the value of gold.

The Austrian Mint, maker of the quadruple ducat

Somewhat older than the quadruple ducat, the Austrian Mint is the manufacturer of Austrian gold coins. Its history, or that of its predecessor institutions, can be traced back to the 14th century. Since 1918 it has been the sole mint for the Republic of Austria, which has existed since then. The Austrian Mint not only produces circulation coins and the Philharmoniker, but also copies of coins from the Austro-Hungarian Empire for collecting and saving, for example crowns, ducats and the Maria Theresa Thaler.

The Austrian Mint, which is owned by the National Bank, itself holds stakes in other companies such as, until 2017, Argor-Heraeus, a precious metal refinery in Ticino, whose bars it also sells.

Special tax feature of the quadruple ducat

The Austrian Mint's restrikes 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.

Image rights: © Austrian Mint