PRESS RELEASE
GARDONE VAL TROMPIA, Italy — On October 3rd, 1526, a payment of 296 ducats to Bartolomeo Beretta marked the first documented transaction in Beretta’s history. Five hundred years later, that moment inspires the 92FS Ducato, a limited edition of just 296 pistols combining one of Beretta’s most iconic designs with a tribute to the origins of the world’s oldest industrial dynasty.
Inspired by the legendary Beretta 92, the 92FS Ducato combines a steel frame and DLC finish with exquisite side grips crafted from millennia-old fossilized Abonos oak.
The engraved details on the frame and slide pay tribute to Beretta’s extraordinary anniversary. A gold 500 Year logo on the rear of the slide, a gold spark with a dedicated 500 Year Anniversary engraving on the frame, and a unique serial number make the 92FS Ducato a true collector’s piece, honoring a legacy that continues to shape the future while celebrating its remarkable past.
Presented in a handcrafted collector’s case, the 92FS Ducato preserves the memory of Beretta’s earliest recorded transaction. Elegantly stitched into the interior lid is the story of that historic moment, while an authentic 16th-century Venetian ducat is housed alongside the pistol. Completing this tribute, two gold inserts set into the grips faithfully reproduce the obverse and reverse of the very coin that inspired its name.
“The 92 Ducato is a tribute to the moment when it all began. - said Irene Ferlito, Product Manager PB Selection - The coin that inspired this limited edition represents more than monetary value; it is the first tangible sign of a story destined to endure for five centuries. Today, that symbol lives on in a creation conceived for collectors who recognize the true value of time, rarity, and memory.”
The grips of the 92FS Ducato are crafted from millenary Abonos Oak, a rare fossilized oak wood (Quercus robur and Quercus petraea, with an age estimated between 2,000 and 5,000 years) recovered from the ancient sediments of the Sava River, between Slovenia and Serbia. There, hidden beneath water and earth layers for centuries, the wood was preserved by extraordinary natural conditions. Over time, minerals, water, and pressure slowly transformed it, creating its distinctive dark hues and remarkable texture. Every grain pattern, every variation in color, every natural marking tells a story written over centuries, making each set of grips entirely unique and impossible to replicate.
Embedded within the grips are two golden inserts reproducing the obverse and reverse of a 16th-century Venetian Ducat, the very coin Bartolomeo Beretta received as payment for supplying arquebus barrels to the Arsenal of the Republic of Venice in 1526. It was the surviving document recording that transaction that allowed to trace the origins of the Beretta legacy back more than five hundred years.
To honor this extraordinary legacy, a reproduction of the original 1526 manuscript has been elegantly stitched into the French-fitted red canvas lining of the presentation case lid. Handcrafted at the PB Selection Custom Atelier in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy, the exquisite 92FS Ducato case is crafted from richly grained dark wood, chosen to echo the distinctive Abonos Oak grips of the pistol. A metallic Beretta 500 Years emblem, set at its center, completes this exclusive tribute to five centuries of craftsmanship.
Accompanying the pistol within its refined presentation case is an authentic Venetian Ducat dating back to the 16th century. A symbol of the prosperity and global influence of the Republic of Venice, the coin preserves a tangible connection to the historical context in which the Beretta story began.
Together with the usual Beretta pistol accessories, the presentation case also includes:
- A certificate of authenticity for the Venetian Ducat, issued by the renowned auction house Bolaffi
- A certificate attesting to the age, authenticity, and provenance of the millenary Abonos Oak used for the grips
- A commemorative document granting access to the digital Beretta 500 Years Limited Edition certificate
Founded in 1526 in Gardone Val Trompia (Italy) by the Beretta Family, who has now been leading the company for 15 generations, Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A. is an international manufacturer of commercial firearms, military weapons and products designed for outdoor sports such as hunting, competition, and tactical shooting. Beretta operates in the world to support outdoors lovers, defense and law enforcement officers, providing them with a complete ecosystem (firearms, clothing, accessories and services) and featuring the most modern technologies, assembly lines, quality control and local highly qualified workers, who hand down the Italian tradition of gun-smithing since the Renaissance. All this represents an irreplaceable asset to achieve the degree of accuracy and quality that made Beretta a world-renowned brand.
With more than 50 global subsidiaries, Beretta Holding Group stands as a world-renowned leader with a distinguished reputation in the fields of hunting, sports shooting, and defense & law enforcement sectors thanks to its wide selection of premium products.