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1 Groschen - Louis II
| Issuer | Hessen, Landgraviate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1458-1471 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Within a beaded inner circle, the Hessian lion rampant left, its body rendered in bold relief with detailed mane and claws, bearing on its breast a quartered shield displaying the arms of Hesse. A Gothic legend in Latin encircles the design within the outer beaded border, naming the issuing landgrave. The overall style is characteristic of mid-fifteenth-century German hammered coinage, with slightly irregular flan. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse features a ornate quadrilobe or four-petalled Gothic cross design at center, formed by four cusped arches meeting at a central point, with small crosses or floral terminals in the spandrels, all contained within a beaded inner circle. A six-pointed star appears at the top of the field above the central motif. The surrounding Latin legend, separated by a beaded border, reads the denomination and territorial attribution. The design is typical of Hessian groschen coinage of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Louis II ruled Hessen during a period of persistent dynastic fragmentation, and his coinage reflects the financial pressures of a mid-fifteenth century landgraviate constantly negotiating its position among competing imperial territories. The Groschen denomination by this point was already a workhorse of regional exchange across the Rhineland and central German states, though individual landgrave issues varied considerably in fineness as silver supplies and political circumstances dictated.
The Schütz reference places this firmly within the established typology for Hessian groschen of the period, but the thirteen-year span of issue suggests these were struck across multiple die generations rather than a single emission.