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1 Pfennig - John Adam of Bicken
| Issuer | Archbishopric of Mainz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1601-1604 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.21 g |
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| Obverse description | Quartered shield bearing the arms of Mainz (the wheel) and the arms of the Bicken family, the two coats of arms arranged in a four-fold division. The initials IA (for Johann Adam) appear above the shield, identifying the issuing archbishop. The design is rendered in the crude, high-relief style typical of small hammered pfennig coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
John Adam of Bicken served as Archbishop of Mainz from 1601 until his death in 1604, one of the shorter episcopates in the see's early modern history. His tenure coincided with the opening phase of Catholic consolidation in the Rhineland following the Tridentine reforms, and coinage was issued as a matter of jurisdictional assertion as much as economic necessity. At 0.21 g of silver, these tiny pfennigs were among the smallest denominations the Mainz mint produced — the dies wore quickly and surviving examples with clean strikes are genuinely scarce.