Catalog
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| Issuer | Margravate of Meissen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1404-1411 |
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| Value | 1 Groschen |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A crested helm in profile occupies the center of the coin, surmounted by a flowing mantling and topped by the Meissen lion crest, giving this issue its popular designation 'Helmgroschen'. The helm device is enclosed within a quadrilobe frame decorated with trefoil cusps, all set against a beaded inner border. Small heraldic ornaments fill the spandrels between the lobes. The marginal legend MARCHIO MISNENSIS, rendered in Latin, encircles the entire composition, identifying the issuer as Margrave of Meissen. |
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| Additional information |
Frederick IV of Meissen—later Frederick I, Elector of Saxony—issued the Helmgroschen during a period of acute political friction between the Wettin margraves and the Meissen episcopal authority over mint rights in the region. The type takes its name from the heraldic helmet that distinguishes it from earlier Meissen groschen issues, a deliberate iconographic shift. Krug's classification places this specimen within the second die pairing of the 663 group, a distinction that matters for collectors since the series shows measurable variation in the helmet's rendering across die marriages.