Thurgau Dukaten

Thurgau's dukaten were struck using gold sourced from melted-down foreign coins, a pragmatic reuse that reflected the canton's thrifty approach to minting during the 17th and 18th centuries.

These gold pieces, weighing around 3.5 grams each, featured the Thurgau coat of arms on one side and a simple cross on the other. Mintage varied by year, but records are spotty; some issues from the 1700s might have numbered in the hundreds, though exact figures burned with archives in later conflicts. Production spanned from 1650 to 1798, halting as the French Revolution's ripples reached Switzerland.

The designs were straightforward, avoiding the florid styles of neighboring mints. A numismatist might note that these coins rarely show wear, suggesting they were hoarded rather than spent.

Owners sometimes altered them for jewelry, turning a ducat into a pendant—practical, if not always reversible.