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11/2 Thalers Sede Vacante
| Issuer | Cathedral Chapter of Brixen (Bishopric of Brixen, Austrian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1779 |
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| Value | 11/2 Thaler (1.5) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A broad annular arrangement of fifteen individual canons' heraldic shields, each set within its own arched compartment, encircles the entire coin in a continuous decorative border of high relief. The shields display a variety of armorial charges representing the members of the cathedral chapter. At center, within a beaded inner circle, a multi-line legend in five lines reads CAPITVLVM BRIXINENSE REGNANS SEDE VACANTE 1779, recording the governing authority of the chapter during the vacancy of the episcopal see. The overall composition is densely heraldic and richly detailed, characteristic of Sede Vacante coinage issued upon the death or departure of a bishop. |
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| Additional information |
Sede Vacante coins were struck by cathedral chapters during the vacancy between a bishop's death and the installation of his successor — a period in which the chapter held temporary governing authority, including the right to mint. The Brixen vacancy of 1779 followed the death of Prince-Bishop Ignaz von Spaur, who died in August of that year. The chapter's window to exercise this privilege was narrow; Joseph II's ongoing ecclesiastical reforms were already eroding the temporal powers of such institutions across the Habsburg lands.
Brixen's chapter struck sparingly, and the 1½ Thaler denomination is the rarest of the 1779 Sede Vacante issues by surviving population.