1 Guldenthaler

Augsburg's guldenthaler issues of this period emerged directly from the monetary chaos following the 1559 collapse of the Augsburg-dominated trading house of the Fuggers' extended credit network — the city needed sound, large-denomination silver to stabilize commercial transactions across the south German trade routes it still controlled. The Free City had unusual latitude to strike heavy silver at this weight precisely because it sat outside the direct coinage authority of any territorial prince, answering instead to the Imperial diet.

Davenport's SG#2 designation places this among the earliest of Augsburg's guldenthaler sequence.