1 Goldgulden - Francis Louis of Erthal

Francis Louis of Erthal ruled the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg from 1779 until his death in 1795, governing through the turbulent opening years of the French Revolution while attempting to maintain the ecclesiastical territories of Franconia against growing secular pressure. This 1790 striking came just as the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was being debated across the Rhine — a moment when Catholic episcopal authority in the German-speaking lands felt acutely threatened. Würzburg's goldgulden issues of this period are relatively infrequent, the bishopric's gold coinage never matching the volume of its silver production.