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A New Silver Ducat Series: Dutch City Gates and Roads
Silver Ducats are commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Finance as legal collector coins. The issue depicting Catharijnepoort Utrecht is part and also the first issue of the brand-new series “Dutch city gates and access roads”. For this new series, the mintage for each coin is being lowered to 1,750 pieces.
The obverse of the Silver Ducat “Catharijnepoort Utrecht” depicts Duke Karel van Egmond in front of Utrecht’s most important and best defended city gate. At his peak, he ruled several Dutch areas. He also was the last independent feudal ruler of the Netherlands.
The provincial arms of Utrecht is on his shield. The inscription reads: “MO.NO.ARG.REG.BELGII. TRAJ”. “MO.NO.ARG.REG.BELGII.” is the Latin abbreviation for “Moneta Nova Argenta Regni Belgii”: New Silver coin of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. TRAJ is short for Trajectum, which is the Latin word for Utrecht.
The national coat of arms of the Netherlands with the Royal Crown flanked by the date is on the reverse. The inscription reads: “CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT”, Unity makes Strength. Here is also find the mint mark and the privy mark. As requested by many, the packaging for the new series has been adjusted. The Silver Ducat is in a smaller packaging that not only takes up less space, but also fits in the mailbox.
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Metal
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Silver
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Fine
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0.8730
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Weight (g)
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28.250
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Diameter (mm)
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40.00
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Quality
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Proof
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Mintage
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1,750
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Catharijnepoort Utrecht: most important gateway to the city
In the Middle Ages, Utrecht slowly started to grow into a large city. And in order to easily reach the city, four main entrances to it were built. One of these entrances was the Catharijnepoort. This gate stood on the west side of the city, near the current Vredenburg. It was named after the adjacent monastery, which was dedicated to Saint Catherine.
Although there is no image of the medieval gate, several sources say it was large and robust: the Catharijnepoort grew into the largest and best defensible gate in Utrecht. We also know that this gate was the oldest known storage place of the Utrecht city rights. In 1528, Charles V came to power: he has a large castle, named Vredenburg, built within the walls of the city. The Catharijnepoort was located outside the castle, directly in the shooting range of the city canons. Therefore, the gate is almost completely demolished, even though plans to rebuild it elsewhere are made. These plans were put into action in 1625: a new Catharijnepoort was built. However, this is eventually also demolished in 1830, together with the rest of the Utrecht city defense.
On the "Catharijnepoort Utrecht" Silver Ducat the new gate is shown, as it was designed by Paulus Moreelse in 1625. Original drawings of this gate can be admired in the archives of Utrecht. |
