Brunswick's civic coinage of the mid-sixteenth century emerged from the city's hard-won status as a largely self-governing imperial city, politically distinct from the surrounding Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The tension between the city and its ducal neighbors was a persistent feature of the period, and the right to strike large-denomination silver reflected real civic autonomy — not a ceremonial gesture.
The Großer Groschen at this module sits at the larger end of contemporary German civic silver, predating the widespread adoption of Taler-standard coinage in Lower Saxony.
Brunswick's civic coinage of the mid-sixteenth century emerged from the city's hard-won status as a largely self-governing imperial city, politically distinct from the surrounding Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The tension between the city and its ducal neighbors was a persistent feature of the period, and the right to strike large-denomination silver reflected real civic autonomy — not a ceremonial gesture.
The Großer Groschen at this module sits at the larger end of contemporary German civic silver, predating the widespread adoption of Taler-standard coinage in Lower Saxony.