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1 Ducat Siege coinage
| Issuer | Vienna, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1529 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Irregular square klippe with a four-line Latin inscription filling the entire field in large, bold Roman capital letters, reading TVRCK / BLEGERT / WIEN / 1529, recording the Ottoman (Turkish) siege of Vienna in 1529. A small decorative foliate or floral ornament appears above the first line of text and a similar ornament is placed below the final line. The lettering is deeply struck and slightly irregular, characteristic of hastily produced siege coinage. The plain flat field serves as the sole background to the inscription. |
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| Mint | Vienna Mint (emergency issue) |
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| Additional information |
This piece dates to the first Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529, when Suleiman the Magnificent's forces surrounded the city from late September until mid-October. Cut off from normal supply lines and imperial minting authority, the city struck emergency coinage from whatever gold was available — donated plate, jewelry, and church vessels were all melted down. The siege lasted only until October 15th, when early winter and overstretched supply lines forced an Ottoman withdrawal.
The brevity of the siege — under three weeks of actual encirclement — makes the survival of any piece from this issue remarkable.