Guldiner - Vladislaus II

The Guldiner of Vladislaus II sits at the beginning of large-format silver coinage in Central Europe. Hall in the Tyrol had struck the first true Guldiner in 1486, and Hungarian royal mints followed within a generation, borrowing both the denomination concept and the approximate weight standard. Vladislaus himself was a weak monarch — the Bohemian nobility had elected him precisely because they expected to dominate him, and they were right. Royal finances were chronically strained.

Hungarian Guldiners of this period were struck at Kremnica (Körmöcbánya), the most productive royal mint in the kingdom, operating continuously since the fourteenth century under strict assay controls.