Catalog
1 Mariengroschen
| Issuer | Hildesheim, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1531-1540 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Mariengroschen (1⁄36) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Within a beaded inner circle, a full-length frontal figure of the crowned Madonna stands, holding the Christ Child before her, both figures nimbed. Stylized radiating flames surround the central group, filling the inner field in a mandorla-like arrangement characteristic of late medieval Marian iconography. The circular legend runs along the outer margin, invoking the Virgin as Mother of Grace. |
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| Reverse lettering | MARIA.MATER.GRACIE. |
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| Additional information |
Hildesheim's civic coinage of this period emerged from a prolonged constitutional struggle between the city council and the prince-bishops who nominally controlled the surrounding territory. The city had secured a degree of monetary independence, and these small silver issues reflect that assertion of municipal authority during a particularly fractious decade that included the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud of 1519–1523, the aftermath of which reshaped property and power in Lower Saxony for generations.
The Mariengroschen denomination itself was a north German regional standard, and Hildesheim's civic issues of this run are documented across three die variants in Buck-Bahrfeldt — the 43c classification placing this among the later strikes of the series.