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1 Goldgulden Münster Osnabrück City issue
| Issuer | Münster, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1423-1473 |
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| Composition | Gold (.500) (Fineness differed. Initially it was .771, but was soon lowered to .500) |
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| Obverse description | Double countermark applied by the cities of Münster and Osnabrück over a Sint Jansgoudgulden of Arnold of Egmont (1423–1473). The Osnabrück countermark depicts a six-spoked wheel with open hub, the spoke ends centrally prolonged into points, while the Münster countermark shows the head of St. Paul, the city's patron saint. The underlying host coin retains its original design of a Gothic shield within a polylobe frame, surrounded by a beaded inner border and a Gothic legend in uncial script along the outer rim. The countermarks were applied as validation stamps to authorize the coin's circulation within the territories of both cities. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (uncial) |
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| Additional information |
The joint coinage arrangement between Münster and Osnabrück reflects the broader monetary cooperation among Westphalian cities during the fifteenth century, when smaller civic mints struggled to maintain competitive gold issues against the flood of Rhenish gulden dominating regional trade. The deliberate halving of fineness over the issue's life — from .771 down to .500 — was not gradual erosion but a documented policy response to the rising gold price and the cities' inability to source bullion at rates that made full-weight coinage economically viable.
Krusy's two separate catalog references for what is effectively a shared type reflect genuine die distinctions between the Münster and Osnabrück strikes.