1/2 Bausche - William III

The Bausche — a regional pfennig-type struck in the Lower Rhenish duchies — takes its name from an old German word for a small bundle or lump, reflecting the rough fabric of petty coinage circulating in the Rhine corridor during the late fifteenth century. William III ruled Jülich-Berg jointly with Berg from 1475 until his death in 1511, and his administration produced a notably documented series of small silver issues catalogued by Noss. The half-denomination is the scarcer of the two, with surviving examples typically showing the flat, uneven flan characteristic of this denomination class.