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Goldgulden - John I
| Issuer | Kingdom of Denmark |
|---|---|
| Year | 1481-1513 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Full-length frontal figure of a crowned saint, likely Saint John the Baptist, standing erect in the field, robed in flowing drapery and holding a long sceptre or staff in the right hand and a globus cruciger or orb in the left. The figure is rendered in the Gothic hammered style characteristic of late medieval Rhenish-influenced goldgulden coinage. A beaded inner circle frames the central device, with the Latin legend distributed around the periphery reading IOhS DEI GR REX DACIE. |
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| Reverse description | Central crowned royal shield of arms of Denmark, displaying three passant lions within a quarterly or divided field, set within a plain inner circle. A long cross pattée extends to the periphery, dividing the legend into four sections. The entire composition follows the standard late medieval goldgulden reverse type derived from Florentine and Rhenish prototypes. The Latin circumscription reads MONET AVREA REGNI DACIE, affirming the monetary authority of the Danish crown. |
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| Additional information |
John I of Denmark struck these goldgulden in conscious imitation of the Rhenish goldgulden then dominating northern European trade, a pragmatic acknowledgment that Danish-minted gold needed to speak a familiar commercial language to merchants in Lübeck and the Hanseatic ports. His reign was defined by the prolonged struggle to reassert Danish control over Sweden, culminating in the Battle of Brunkeberg's aftermath and the eventual reconquest of 1497. Coin production was never insulated from those pressures — military campaigns drained the treasury and interrupted mint activity throughout the period.
Fr#4 is among the rarest Danish gold issues of the medieval period.