1 Goldgulden - Joachim II Hector

Joachim II Hector converted Brandenburg to Lutheranism in 1539 — notably later than most neighboring Protestant territories, and driven in part by his need to retain Habsburg support rather than genuine theological urgency. His father Joachim I had been a staunch Catholic, and the transition reshaped Brandenburg's ecclesiastical finances dramatically, secularizing church properties that funded considerable expenditure at the electoral court.

The long date range on this issue reflects continuous production across a politically turbulent reign rather than a single minting episode. Joachim II died deeply in debt, having borrowed extensively from Bohemian and Silesian creditors — obligations his successors spent decades resolving.