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1 Ducat
| Issuer | Kaufbeuren, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1542-1543 |
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| Currency | Thaler |
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| Obverse description | Two ornate classical columns — the Pillars of Hercules — flank the central field, each surmounted by a crown. The date (43, for 1543) and the motto PLVS VLTRA appear in three lines between the columns. The civic arms of Kaufbeuren, featuring an eagle, are displayed on a shield at the base of the columns. A circular Latin legend runs along the coin's periphery, referencing the gold coinage of the city. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Kaufbeuren was a Free Imperial City in Swabia, and its right to strike gold ducats derived directly from imperial privilege — a jealously guarded prerogative that small cities exercised intermittently and often under political pressure to demonstrate their autonomy. The years 1542–43 place this issue squarely within the Diet of Nuremberg and the mounting Ottoman threat that prompted emergency military levies across the Reich, periods when municipal mints often struck gold specifically to meet imperial taxation demands.
Surviving examples attributable to Kaufbeuren from this period are rare by any measure. Fr#1418 documents the type, but auction appearances remain infrequent enough that auction records from the last four decades number in the single digits.