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 Siege issue
| Issuer | City of Magdeburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1551 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Pfennig (1⁄288) |
| 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 | City arms of Magdeburg depicted centrally, showing a fortified gateway with two flanking towers surmounted by battlements, with a small star in the lower field beneath the shield. The date is divided and appears above the arms. The design is struck in a plain field with no surrounding legend, characteristic of emergency siege coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Plain, uniface strike with no design, legend, or inscription. The reverse shows only the flat, unstruck surface of the flan, as is typical of siege Pfennig issues produced under emergency conditions. |
| 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 |
Magdeburg was under siege by Maurice of Saxony in 1551, acting on behalf of Emperor Charles V in the so-called Fürstenkrieg period, and the city's mint struck emergency coinage to keep small transactions functioning while normal supply lines were cut. Siege issues of this type were authorized by the city council specifically because the blockade had disrupted the flow of standard imperial coinage into the market.
Copper was the pragmatic choice — silver was too valuable to commit to fractional denominations under siege conditions.