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16 Groschen - Gustav
| Issuer | Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, County of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1676 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Elaborate six-fold quartered coat of arms with a central shield of Sayn, displaying the heraldic devices of the associated territories in bold relief. Four ornate crested helmets surmount the achievement, each bearing distinctive plumes and mantling in baroque style. The entire armorial composition is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, with the circumferential legend in Latin capital letters reading the titles of Count Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein. The field is well-executed in the late seventeenth-century German minting tradition, with fine detail in the helm crests and shield divisions. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein was among the smallest of the Rhenish Westphalian counties still exercising independent minting rights in the 1670s, and those rights were perpetually contested. This 16-Groschen piece was struck under Gustav, whose house clung to coinage privileges partly as a matter of jurisdictional prestige rather than economic necessity — the county's output was too small to meaningfully supply regional circulation. By the end of the century, most such minor imperial counts had been effectively squeezed out of independent silver coinage altogether.