Catalog
1 Pfennig
| Issuer | Erfurt, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1489-1500 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Within a beaded border, the Erfurt civic arms depicted as a six-spoked wheel superimposed over a shield, the composition rendered in the flat, linear style characteristic of late medieval German hammered coinage. The wheel, symbolic of Erfurt, is prominently centered within the shield, with the spokes clearly delineated against the coin's field. The overall design is unlettered, relying solely on the heraldic device for identification. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Erfurt's civic coinage of this period reflects the city's unusual dual status — nominally under the Archbishop of Mainz yet functionally self-governing through its merchant oligarchy, which jealously guarded minting rights as a mark of practical independence. The Leitzmann 423 type belongs to the final decade before Erfurt's financial autonomy was progressively curtailed in the early sixteenth century.
At half a gram of silver, these were working coins ground down through daily transactions in one of central Germany's busiest trading centers. Survivors with intact surfaces are the exception.