Imperial guilder at 21 groschen (1584)

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Imperial guilders at 21 groschen from 1584 from the Dresden mint (diameter 23 mm)

The imperial guilder at 21 groschen from 1584 is a pronounced currency bill coin , a gold coin at 21  groschen . The obverse shows a large orb with the main coat of arms of Saxony . The value is embossed in four lines on the back. The golden Reichsgulden is one of the rarest coins from Electoral Saxony . It is no longer represented in any coin auctions . That is probably also the reason why the coin is sometimes still described in a puzzling way.

Coin history

In the collection of rare and strange gold and silver coins ... from 1751, the “extremely rare” golden coin from the Electoral Saxony was first described. Tentzel's Saxonia Numismatica only captures it as an image. it consists of

"Gold gulden Gold, but it is lighter than a gold gulden , which cannot be otherwise, because [...] in 1584 the gold gulden 1 bottle. 15 gr. or Meißnischer currency 1 Fl. 5 gr. 3 Pf. , On the other hand, this golden […] Reichsgulden only 21 gr. in value was [...]. "

The Meissen gulden , the Meissen gulden , is a Rhenish gold gulden set at 21 groschen in Saxony in 1490 and a bill coin (a fictitious bill gulden) from 1542 to 1838 . The imperial gulden of 1584 with a significantly lower gold gulden weight is not a discount or a trial minting , nor is it a gold gulden with a higher fineness to compensate for the too low weight, as is still sometimes assumed. The Reichsgulden of 1584 is an expression of the billing guilder.

Bill coins are actually bill quantities that do not exist as coins, but are intended to simplify accounting.

On May 5th and 6th, 1584, the two daughters of Elector Augustus, Anna (pictured here) and Dorothea were married twice.

Karl Christoph Schmieder refers to the statements in the collection of rare and strange gold and silver coins ... and explains:

“Reichsgulden are those German gold and silver coins that were minted for one guilder after each Reichsfuss . In Saxony, golden imperial guilders were the size of groschen in 1584. "

Here, too, it becomes clear that the imperial guilder, which was minted only in 1584, must actually be an invoice guilder.

The Reichsgulden is still presented in a puzzling way, although clarity was established as early as 1751.

The reason for the coinage

After the important numismatists , the brothers Julius and Albert Erbstein (Albert was, among other things, director of the Dresden Münzkabinett ), the coin is one of the shooting jewels of Elector August of Saxony (1553–1586). According to Erbstein, the gulden is an imperial gulden or " Meissner gulden in gold at 21 groschen".

On May 5th and 6th, 1584, the year of minting the imperial guilder, the two daughters of Elector Augustus, Dorothea and Anna, were married to the dukes Heinrich Julius of Braunschweig and Johann Casimir of Saxe-Gotha . "All kinds of delicacies were organized" to celebrate. The Reichsgulden was probably minted during the shooting that was held for this purpose. In addition, a similar gold guilder cliff with the year on the back was struck on this occasion .

Coin description

The Reichsgulden is a Meissen gulden worth 21 Groschen ( Gutegroschen ), which Elector Augusts had struck in 1584 on a special occasion. The significantly lower gold guilder weight is due to the fact that the coin is a distinct unit of account. The guilder comes from the Dresden mint , which at that time was the only Electoral Saxon mint . From 1556 to 1604 Hans Biener worked as a mint master in Dresden .

The golden Reichsgulden, which was minted without a mint master's mark , has a diameter of 23 millimeters and weighs 2.42 grams (guilders of the Münzkabinett Württemberg ) or 2.48 grams (guilders of the Münzkabinett Berlin ).

front

The obverse shows a large imperial orb, which is covered with the coat of arms of Electoral Saxony. These are the crossed course swords in the left half and the Saxon diamond on the crossbar in the right half. On both sides of the cross is the divided year 15 - 84.

back

The reverse bears the inscription in four lines: REICHS / GULDEN / ZV XXI / gl (at 21 groschen) The groschen sign is in the bottom line between rosettes and dots. The abbreviation commonly used in correspondence was used as a denomination. This can be understood as an indication of a counting unit, which was defined here in the special case.

annotation

The value of the golden imperial guldens from 1584 in groschen, abbreviated as in correspondence, is not an isolated case. The abbreviation for groschen was also used for the unusual value of the Saxon butterfly thaler in groschen. In both cases, this could mean that the very rare coins are not intended for payment transactions.

See also

literature

  • Walther Haupt: Saxon coinage . German Verl. D. Wiss., Berlin 1974, p. 223: Gold gulden without mintmaster's mark = Dresden Mint, and Gold Guldenklippe (designated as a commemorative coin), p. 224
  • Heinz Fengler, Gerd Gierow, Willy Unger: transpress Lexikon Numismatics , Berlin 1976
  • Friedrich von Schrötter (ed.), With N. Bauer, K. Regling, A. Suhle, R. Vasmer , J. Wilcke: Dictionary of Coin Studies , de Gruyter, Berlin 1970 (reprint of the original edition from 1930)
  • Helmut Kahnt: The large lexicon of coins from A to Z. H. Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf 2005
  • Otto F. Müller: Otto Merseburger collection including coins and medals from Saxony, sales catalog , Leipzig 1894, p. 30: Reichsgulden at 21 groschen, sales price 275 marks . This is the most expensive coin from Elector Augustus in this catalog.
  • Paul Arnold: The Saxon Thaler Currency from 1500 to 1763 , Swiss Numismatic Review, Volume 59, 1980
  • Julius Erbstein, Albert Erbstein: Discussions in the field of the Saxon coin and medal history when listing the Hofrath Engelhardt'schen collection , Dresden 1888.
  • Carl Christoph Schmieder: Concise dictionary of the entire coinage , Halle and Berlin 1811, p. 378: Reichsgulden 1584
  • Collection of rare and strange gold and silver coins, historically and critically described. In Commission bey Adam Heinrich Holle, Leipzig 1751, p. 33: A very rare electoral Saxon golden imperial gulden at 21 groschen minted in 1584, no. XVII. (with picture).
  • Johann Tobias Köhler: Complete Ducate Cabinet, that is ... , Hanover 1759, p. 328/329, No. 995: An extremely rare golden Reichsgulden.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Collection of rare and strange gold and silver coins ... (1751), p. 34
  2. ↑ Gerhard Krug: The Meissnisch-Saxon Groschen 1338-1500 , p. 101
  3. ↑ Heinz Fengler, ...: transpress Lexikon Numismatik ..., p. 221 (here and with von Schrötter wrongly 1498 instead of 1490)
  4. ↑ Heinz Fengler, ...: transpress Lexikon Numismatics ..., p. 308
  5. ^ Paul Arnold: The Saxon thaler currency from 1500 to 1763 . In: Swiss Numismatic Rundschau , Volume 59, 1980, p. 73
  6. ^ Carl Christoph Schmieder: Concise dictionary of the entire coinage , Halle and Berlin 1811, p. 378: Reichsgulden 1584
  7. ↑ Julius Erbstein, Albert Erbstein: Discussions in the field of the Saxon coin and medal history ... (1888), p. 71: Reichsgulden zu 21 Groschen under Schießkleinode
  8. ↑ Julius Erbstein, Albert Erbstein: Discussions in the field of the Saxon coin and medal history ... (1888), p. 71: Double engagement, also a square gold gulden
  9. ^ Walther Haupt: Sächsische Münzkunde . German Verl. D. Wiss., Berlin 1974, p. 223: Goldgulden 1584 and p. 224: Goldguldenklippe 1584 (designated as a commemorative coin)
  10. ↑ Landesmuseum Württemberg, Münzkabinett: Gold guilders from Elector August of Saxony from 1584, diameter 23 mm, weight 2.42 g. The coin is, however, a pronounced bill guilder, hence the significantly lower guilder weight.
  11. ↑ Münzkabinett Berlin: Gold gulden from Elector August of Saxony from 1584, diameter 23 mm, weight 2.48 g. The coin is, however, a pronounced bill guilder, hence the significantly lower guilder weight.