PART III.
Footnote [3.1] The first silver ducat is believed to have been struck in 1140 by Roger II., Norman king of Sicily; and ducats have been struck constantly since the twelfth century, especially at Venice (see Merchant of Venice). They have varied considerably both in weight and fineness, and consequently in value, at different times and places. Ducats have been struck in both gold and silver. The early Venetian silver ducat was worth about five shillings. The name is said, according to one account, to have been derived from the last word of the Latin legend found on the earliest Venetian gold coins:—Sit tibi, Christe, datus, quem tu regis, ducatus (duchy); according to another account it is taken from "il ducato," the name generally applied to the duchy of Apulia.