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Denier or Rappen
| Issuer | Colmar, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1426-1490 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The civic arms of Colmar depicted as a displayed eagle with spread wings, rendered in low relief within a plain inner circle. The eagle, serving as the heraldic device of the city, is shown facing forward with wings outstretched and talons visible. The entire device is enclosed within a broad beaded border encircling the periphery of the flan, characteristic of medieval hammered coinage of the Upper Rhine region. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents an incuse or brockage impression of the obverse type, showing the civic eagle of Colmar in mirror image and sunken relief within a plain inner circle. The displayed eagle with spread wings appears as a negative impression, a consequence of the hammered minting technique whereby a previously struck coin adhered to the die. The surrounding beaded border remains partially visible around the irregular flan edge. |
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| Additional information |
Colmar's civic coinage emerged from the city's position within the Décapole — the loose alliance of ten Alsatian imperial free cities that banded together in 1354 partly to defend their minting privileges against encroachment from territorial princes. The Rappen took its name from the raven type associated with the broader Rappen monetary union that had organized lower Rhenish small coinage since the late fourteenth century, though individual cities retained enough autonomy to strike their own variants.
The extended date range reflects episodic rather than continuous production — municipal authorities authorized striking runs as local commercial demand required, not on any fixed schedule.