John II of Nassau held the archiepiscopal see of Mainz from 1396 until his death in 1419, navigating the fractious politics of the Rhenish electoral princes during the prolonged turbulence of the Western Schism. His goldgulden issues of 1397–1399 fall within the period when Mainz remained firmly in the Urbanist obedience, backing the Roman line against the Avignon claimants — a political alignment that shaped the archbishopric's alliances and finances throughout his early tenure.
The Felke 584a attribution distinguishes this among closely related Nassau-Mainz types by die specifics. Rhenish goldgulden of this period circulated widely beyond the archbishopric's own territories, accepted by weight and fineness across the Rhine trade corridor.
John II of Nassau held the archiepiscopal see of Mainz from 1396 until his death in 1419, navigating the fractious politics of the Rhenish electoral princes during the prolonged turbulence of the Western Schism. His goldgulden issues of 1397–1399 fall within the period when Mainz remained firmly in the Urbanist obedience, backing the Roman line against the Avignon claimants — a political alignment that shaped the archbishopric's alliances and finances throughout his early tenure.
The Felke 584a attribution distinguishes this among closely related Nassau-Mainz types by die specifics. Rhenish goldgulden of this period circulated widely beyond the archbishopric's own territories, accepted by weight and fineness across the Rhine trade corridor.