"How now? A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!"
(Shakespeare, Hamlet)

A financial statement

This time I am going to quote a lengthy section from a book by William Carew Hazlitt, "History of the Venetian Republic: Her Rise, Her Greatness, and Her Civilization", published in 1860. Hazlitt describes a debate in the Predigi, the Council of Venice about a proposal of starting a war against Milan. Hazlitt follows the account of Marino Sanuto, a 16th century historian, who probably had access to the proceedings of the Council. The old doge, Tommaso Mocenigo argues against the war, giving a detailed account of the trade of Venice and its financial situation. He also mentions the Mint:

"Your Mint coins annually 1,000,000 ducats of gold and 200,000 ducats of silver, of minor pieces, 800,000. Of this sum, 500.000 go to Syria, 100,000 to the Terra-Ferma, 100.000 to various other places, 100,000 to England. The remainder is used at home."

Mocenigo was 80 years old at that time, in 1423, and died the same year. His successor, Francesco Foscari, did not heed his words and allied with Florence to attack Milan. Read Hazlitt's account here with interesting details...

In the first volume of his book, Hazlitt writes more about the ducat:

It was on the 31st of October, 1284, that the first publication took place of a certain number of gold pieces, named Ducati, or Ducats. ... The purity and fineness of the Venetian gold, and its peculiar freedom from alloy, procured an immense circulation* for the money of the Republic throughout the Peninsula, in Europe generally, and indeed in every part of the civilized globe; and it was of essential consequence, that in the case of a piece which, like the Ducat, promised to create a revolution in the currency...

... and gives an image of the ducat:

Compare this image with an actual photo of a 13th century gold zecchino (that is, ducat):