2½ Schauguldiner - Maximilian I Hall

The Schauguldiner — literally "show gulden" — was never intended for commerce. Maximilian I commissioned these oversized silver multiples as diplomatic gifts and court presentations, distributed to foreign dignitaries and favored nobles as portable demonstrations of Habsburg technical ambition. Hall in Tirol had access to the silver output of the Schwaz mines, then among the most productive in Europe, which made such extravagant strikes financially feasible.

The 1517 date places this piece in the final two years of Maximilian's reign; he died in January 1519. Few were struck, fewer survived without later mounting damage from use as medallions.