Gulden 'Postulaatgulden'

Groningen struck these gulden during the years it was actively seeking a new bishop for the diocese of Utrecht — the term "postulaatgulden" referring directly to the ecclesiastical postulation process, whereby a candidate required papal dispensation before appointment. The city issued coinage in this window partly to assert civic authority during the prolonged vacancy and the political maneuvering that surrounded it.

Electrum at this period was not an accidental alloy. The deliberate gold-silver mix placed this issue in a middle register between the pure gold rijnsgulden and lesser silver coinage, a practical hedge against metal price volatility in the northern Netherlands markets.