Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Pfennig - Otto I
| Issuer | County of Salm-Kyrburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1548-1607 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Billon |
| 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 | Central field displays a quartered or divided heraldic shield, characteristic of the arms of the County of Salm-Kyrburg, rendered in low relief in the hammered style typical of late 16th-century German petty coinage. The shield appears to incorporate crosses and other heraldic charges, though heavy wear and corrosion obscure fine details. A partial Latin legend is present, with the letters OR visible, likely representing a fragment of the ruler's name or title. The flan is irregular in shape, with a coarse beaded or pellet border around the periphery. The overall execution is consistent with small denomination billon Pfennig coinage of the Holy Roman Empire period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is essentially blank or uniface in appearance, with no discernible legend, device, or design visible. The surface is heavily patinated with grey-green corrosion consistent with an aged billon alloy, and the flan shows significant irregularity and a chip or break at the left edge. The absence of a reverse type is consistent with the simple, single-sided or weakly-struck character of many minor Pfennig issues from small German counties of this era. No inscriptions or mint marks are distinguishable on this side. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Salm-Kyrburg was a small Rhenish county whose mint output in the late sixteenth century was largely fiduciary small change — billon issues with negligible silver content struck to satisfy local transactional demand rather than any imperial monetary ambition. Otto I ruled the county from 1548 until his death in 1607, an unusually long tenure that nonetheless produced coinage of marginal documentary interest beyond its county of origin. The precise mint facility serving Salm-Kyrburg during this period remains poorly attested in the secondary literature.