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1 Thaler - George of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
| Issuer | Bishopric of Minden |
|---|---|
| Year | 1558 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | GEORG D G EPIS MIN BRVN B L DOMP |
| Reverse description | A four-fold heraldic shield bearing the quartered arms of the Bishopric of Minden and the Duchy of Brunswick, with the central inescutcheon displaying the crossed keys of Minden. Above the shield sits a Brunswick helmet surmounted by a prancing horse crest. The date 1558 is divided to either side of the helmet. The reverse legend, separated by a hyphen, reads MONETA. NO - VA. MINDENSI. 1558, all within a beaded border. |
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| Additional information |
George of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel served as administrator of the Bishopric of Minden from 1554 until his death in 1566 — never ordained, holding the see as a Protestant administrator rather than a Catholic bishop, a arrangement made possible by the political compromises embedded in the Peace of Augsburg signed just three years before this coin was struck. Minden had been effectively Lutheran since the 1530s, and the Thalers issued under George reflect that uneasy institutional hybrid: a episcopal mint producing coinage for a bishop who was not a bishop.
Davenport's GT I attribution places this squarely within the broader Brunswick dynastic coinage, where die-sharing and regional mint relationships complicate clean attribution to this day.