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1 Goldgulden - Frederick II of Saarwerden
| Issuer | Archbishopric of Cologne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1399-1402 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Full-length facing figure of Saint John the Baptist, nimbed and bearded, standing in the field and holding the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei) on his left arm while raising his right hand in blessing. The saint is depicted in long robes rendered in the Gothic style typical of late 14th-century Rhenish goldsmith work. A small cross appears at the base of the figure. The surrounding circular legend reads S IOHANNES BAPTISTA in Gothic lettering. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A trefoil arrangement of three heraldic shields within a quatrefoil frame occupies the central field: at the top, the arms of Cologne (a black cross on white); to the left, the arms of the Chapter of Cologne (a cross on a quartered field); to the right, the arms of Saarwerden (a lion); and at the base, a fourth shield. The composition reflects the Rhenish electoral goldgulden type common to the archiepiscopal series. The surrounding circular legend reads FRIDERICVS ARCHIEPC COLONIE in Gothic characters, identifying Archbishop Frederick II of Saarwerden. |
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| Additional information |
Frederick II of Saarwerden held the archbishopric for over three decades, but his goldgulden issues from this precise window — 1399 to 1402 — fall during the height of the Rhenish electoral princes' coordinated monetary policy. The four Rhenish electors (Cologne, Mainz, Trier, and the Count Palatine) had formalized successive currency agreements through the fourteenth century precisely to stabilize gold coinage circulating across the Rhine corridor, and Frederick was an active participant in renegotiating those terms.
Fr#792a places this among the scarcer die variants of his gold output. Noss remains the foundational reference for Cologne archiepiscopal coinage and assigns 230a as a distinct subtype.