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Groschen
| Issuer | Metz, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1384-1406 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Full-length frontal figure of Saint Stephen, nimbed and robed, standing facing within an oval or vesica-shaped frame at centre. The saint holds a stone in his raised right hand and a palm frond in his left hand, attributes of his martyrdom. The oval frame is set against the coin's field, with a Gothic circular legend surrounding the whole composition. The engraving is executed in the bold, somewhat flat Gothic style characteristic of late 14th-century Lotharingian civic coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Metz occupied an awkward political position in the late 14th century — nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire but effectively self-governing, its civic coinage reflecting that autonomy in practice if not in law. The groschen series struck during this period coincided with sustained tension between the city's merchant patriciate and the Bishop of Metz, whose competing monetary authority the city was actively working to sideline. Municipal silver issues were one mechanism for asserting that independence.
Flon 518 is among the better-documented types from this civic series, though die-to-die variation within the issue is not negligible.