Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Groschen Tournois Counterstamped
| Issuer | Bielefeld, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1361-1393 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (uncial) |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse of the host Tournois groschen presents the characteristic cross of the gros tournois type at center, with a double circular border decorated with alternating fleur-de-lis and castle motifs in the Gothic tradition. The outer legend reads +TYRONUS CIVIS in Latin uncial script, referencing the civic authority. The design retains the architectural and decorative conventions of the Tournois groschen tradition, adapted for Rhenish production under the counts of Jülich-Berg. Surface wear and the applied counterstamp have partially obscured some design elements. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Bielefeld's municipal authorities counterstamped circulating groschen tournois — the ubiquitous French-derived penny of northern European trade — to certify their acceptability within the city's monetary jurisdiction. This was not decoration but economic gatekeeping: only pieces bearing the city punch were legally valid for local transactions, a practice that gave municipal governments practical control over currency without the expense of operating a full mint.
The Krusy reference places this squarely in the period when Bielefeld was navigating the complex monetary politics of the Teutoburg region, where competing ecclesiastical and secular authorities each sought to regulate coin flows through their territories.