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4 Goldgulden
| Issuer | Cologne, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1516 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 14.36 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | IASPAR MELCHIO BALTAS A D 1516 O HELI COLON |
| Reverse description | A medieval ship depicted in high relief, sailing to the left with a large central mast and rigging, bearing heraldic banners at the masthead. Eight figures — representing the Three Magi and their retinue — are crowded aboard the vessel, their faces and garments rendered in fine hammered detail. A continuous Gothic circular legend in uncial lettering surrounds the scene, alluding to the victorious journey of the Magi. The hull is elaborately decorated with ornamental scroll-work at the waterline. |
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| Additional information |
Cologne's municipal coinage authority was fiercely guarded by the city council against repeated attempts by the Archbishop to reassert monetary control — a tension that defined Cologne's minting history through much of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A four-gulden piece represents a high-denomination trade coin, almost certainly struck for large mercantile transactions along the Rhine rather than everyday commerce.
Fr#756a distinguishes this from the more common 756 variety. Freise's attribution places it among the rarest of Cologne's gold multiples.