Reich coinage system

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Decisions of the Holy Roman Empire , which in the 16th century aimed to regulate the coinage of the empire in a uniform legal manner, are referred to as imperial coinage regulations.

history

The arbitrariness of the individuals entitled to coins in the empire, which caused great losses for the public, first prompted Emperor Charles V to make an attempt to clean up the torn coin allocation. The Esslingen Imperial Coin Regulations, which declared the Cologne mark to be the general German coin weight in 1524 , but which was practically never implemented after protests by several major imperial estates, owes its existence to him.

In 1551, with the adoption of the first Augsburg coinage system, an attempt was made to maintain the idea of ​​equivalence between gold and silver gulden . Both coins were worth 72 kreuzers . The thaler , which is now also widely used, was cheap for 68 kreuzers. The Reichsgoldgulden was only minted in small editions south of the Main line for a few years. In northern and central Germany, groschen and thalers continued to be minted , unimpressed . The value of the gold guilder rose over time to over 72 kreuzers.

Eight years later, Emperor Ferdinand I presented a coin dictate to the Reichstag. In 1559, in what was then the financial metropolis of Augsburg, the nominal parity of gold and silver guilders was abolished. At the request of the Electoral Palatinate , the gold gulden was kept , but the equivalent of 75 kreuzers was fixed. The ducat became the new gold coin . The value of the silver guild was determined to be 60 kreuzers. But even the favored silver guilder could not prevail against the silver thaler.

In 1566 the Reichstag accepted this situation and made the silver thaler ( rough weight 29.23 grams, 889/1000 parts silver) the general currency coin in the empire. It asserted itself in payment circulation until around the beginning of the 18th century. However, in the tipper and wipper inflation, the Reich coin system was passed over by the minting of land coins . Land coins are mints that are only valid in their own country, such as the so-called Kippertaler, minted from 1620 to 1623 . (See also Kippermünzstätten (Kursachsen) .)

See also: The characteristics of Electoral Saxony after joining the Imperial Coin Order in 1571

literature

  • Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old measures, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 395 f.

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ August Flor: Coin Conditions , page 3 ff. Altona 1838 , requested on May 11, 2010
  2. ↑ Münzedikt or Münzmandat: laws and regulations, which until the early 19th century, the coinage was regulated. See Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old measures, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 388.
  3. ^ Eduard Döring: Handbook of coin, exchange, measure and weight , page 20. Koblenz 1854 , requested on May 11, 2010