John VI von der Leyen held the archbishopric only from 1556 to 1567, a tenure marked by his cautious navigation of the confessional conflicts tearing apart the Holy Roman Empire in the wake of the Peace of Augsburg. Trier's position as an ecclesiastical electorate made its coinage politically freighted — each gold emission was as much a declaration of Catholic continuity as it was a monetary instrument. The Goldgulden weight standard of 3.25g placed this squarely within the Rhine gulden convention that the electoral archbishops had followed for well over a century.
Schrötter lists only one variety for this type, suggesting limited die production during what was effectively a two-year window of issue.
John VI von der Leyen held the archbishopric only from 1556 to 1567, a tenure marked by his cautious navigation of the confessional conflicts tearing apart the Holy Roman Empire in the wake of the Peace of Augsburg. Trier's position as an ecclesiastical electorate made its coinage politically freighted — each gold emission was as much a declaration of Catholic continuity as it was a monetary instrument. The Goldgulden weight standard of 3.25g placed this squarely within the Rhine gulden convention that the electoral archbishops had followed for well over a century.
Schrötter lists only one variety for this type, suggesting limited die production during what was effectively a two-year window of issue.