A large number of dies for Zurich coins from the early 18th century are the work of the famous die engraver and mint master Hans Jakob Gessner I. Gessner was no longer rooted in the traditions of baroque art, but had already turned towards classicism. In his work this became quite obvious: the designs are no longer exuberant and playful but elaborate and of great technical perfection.
This extremely rare double ducat from Gessner shows two lions holding the oval shield with the arms of Zurich. The rim of the coin is milled; this made it easily recognizable whether the edge had been filed down in order to gain gold dust, as was often done at that time.