Ducats were issued by Austria in 1612, and probably earlier. The last regular issue of ducats was in 1914. All the ducats dated 1915 are re strikes, of which there were 996,721 struck between 1920 and 1936. One ducat coins dated 1915 are still being produced by the Austrian Mint as official re strikes. There is some tradition in Austria for issuing commemorative coins posthumously.

Ducats are produced in high purity gold, 233/4 carats, making them among the highest purity gold coins ever issued for circulation. As ducats have inherited their design and appearance from medieval gold coins, they are very thin compared with modern coins, at just 0.8 mm's thick.

Collectors should note that these beautiful coins are a bullion issue, not having any real value in a numismatic sense.