1 Pfennig - Frederick of Wied

Frederick of Wied held the see of Münster from 1522 until his resignation in 1532, a tenure marked by the early turbulence of the Reformation pressing hard against the prince-bishopric's borders. These small copper pieces represent the lowest denomination struck under his authority — workaday currency for the markets of Westphalia at a moment when Lutheran ideas were actively destabilizing the political footing of every ecclesiastical ruler in the region. Frederick himself was no hardliner; he resigned rather than face the mounting pressures, eventually reconciling with Rome later in life.