1 Groschen Tournois

Frankfurt's groschen tournois issues of the mid-to-late seventeenth century were struck against a backdrop of persistent monetary disorder in the Holy Roman Empire following the Thirty Years' War. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 had done little to stabilize the small-denomination silver coinage circulating across the imperial cities, and Frankfurt — as a major commercial hub hosting the twice-yearly trade fairs — had particular reason to maintain a reliable local issue. The tournois denomination itself was a deliberate nod to the old French gros tournois tradition, long absorbed into German monetary convention.