Murbach was one of the wealthiest imperial abbeys in the Holy Roman Empire, holding minting rights that were exercised only sporadically — and the klippe format here signals this was almost certainly struck as a presentation piece rather than anything intended for commerce. Leopold of Austria, as commendatory abbot from 1614, was simultaneously Bishop of Passau, Strasbourg, and Halberstadt, accumulating ecclesiastical titles at a pace that had more to do with Habsburg territorial strategy than pastoral concern.
The square-cut flan is hand-cut, and centering inconsistencies between specimens are the norm rather than the exception.
Murbach was one of the wealthiest imperial abbeys in the Holy Roman Empire, holding minting rights that were exercised only sporadically — and the klippe format here signals this was almost certainly struck as a presentation piece rather than anything intended for commerce. Leopold of Austria, as commendatory abbot from 1614, was simultaneously Bishop of Passau, Strasbourg, and Halberstadt, accumulating ecclesiastical titles at a pace that had more to do with Habsburg territorial strategy than pastoral concern.
The square-cut flan is hand-cut, and centering inconsistencies between specimens are the norm rather than the exception.