Nuremberg's status as a Free Imperial City gave its mint unusual latitude in issuing experimental and presentation pieces, and pattern strikes in gold — produced far above commercial striking weight — were a recognized tool for securing favor with imperial officials and wealthy patrons. A 20 Kreuzer denomination restriked in gold at over 20 grams represents a deliberate statement piece, not a monetary instrument. The city's minting privileges were under periodic imperial scrutiny throughout the mid-eighteenth century, and presentation strikings of this kind were not incidental.
Kelln 356 documents this piece among a small cluster of Nuremberg gold patterns from the 1750s, none produced in any meaningful quantity.
Nuremberg's status as a Free Imperial City gave its mint unusual latitude in issuing experimental and presentation pieces, and pattern strikes in gold — produced far above commercial striking weight — were a recognized tool for securing favor with imperial officials and wealthy patrons. A 20 Kreuzer denomination restriked in gold at over 20 grams represents a deliberate statement piece, not a monetary instrument. The city's minting privileges were under periodic imperial scrutiny throughout the mid-eighteenth century, and presentation strikings of this kind were not incidental.
Kelln 356 documents this piece among a small cluster of Nuremberg gold patterns from the 1750s, none produced in any meaningful quantity.