1 Goldgulden

Augsburg's goldgulden of this period were struck at the height of the city's commercial dominance as a hub for the Fugger and Welser banking dynasties, whose capital flows through the city dwarfed the monetary output of many sovereign states. The Fuggers alone were financing Habsburg imperial campaigns simultaneously across three continents. Free imperial cities like Augsburg jealously guarded their minting rights as a marker of civic autonomy — rights that came under increasing pressure as Charles V consolidated power following his coronation in 1530, the same year the Diet of Augsburg attempted, and failed, to resolve the Lutheran crisis.