Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Bishopric of Osnabrück |
|---|---|
| Year | 1508-1532 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Thaler |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field depicts a seated bishop in full pontifical vestments, shown facing forward in a frontal or slightly three-quarter pose, holding a crozier in his left hand and raising his right hand in benediction. The figure is rendered in the late Gothic style typical of early sixteenth-century German ecclesiastical coinage. A circular beaded inner border frames the effigy, with a Gothic legend running along the outer periphery reading ERIC: EP: OS - B: Z. PA: D: B., abbreviating the title and name of Erich II of Brunswick-Grubenhagen as Bishop of Osnabrück. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central device consists of a large crossed keys motif — the arms of the Bishopric of Osnabrück — with a spoked wheel (the emblem of Osnabrück) prominently placed in the lower portion of the field, consistent with the heraldic tradition of the see. The composition is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, with a Gothic circular legend running along the outer border reading MON - ETA - OSB., abbreviated from Moneta Osnabrugensis, identifying this as an official coinage of Osnabrück. The overall design reflects the hammered, hand-struck production technique of early sixteenth-century German ecclesiastical mints. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Erich II of Brunswick-Grubenhagen held the bishopric of Osnabrück from 1508 to 1532, a tenure that coincided with the earliest tremors of the Reformation — a movement that would eventually strip Osnabrück of its Catholic ecclesiastical authority entirely within a generation of his death. The diocese was already financially stretched during his episcopate, and fractional silver of this denomination was a practical response to chronic shortages of small change in the regional market economy of Lower Saxony.
Kennepohl's corpus remains the authoritative reference for Osnabrück episcopal coinage; MB#19 cross-references confirm attribution but add little beyond die documentation.