The Schmalkadin Union Thaler ( German: Schmalkaldischer Bundestaler ) is a large thaler- type silver coin, which was minted from 1542 to 1546 at the Goslar Mint. Its feature was the image of the two leaders of the Shmakalden Union - the Elector of Saxony Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous on one side of the coin and the landgrave Hessen Philippe on the other.
Coin History
In 1531, in the city of Schmalkalden, Protestant princes and imperial cities entered into a defensive alliance. He gained strength, replenished with new members [1] . In 1538, in contrast to the Schmalkalden Union , the Catholic League was created. In 1542, the alliance defeated the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel Henry II . Thus, the Protestants occupied the last bastion of Catholicism in Northern Germany. The official reason for the declaration of war was the conflict of the Braunschweig monarch with the city of Goslar for the right to develop rich silver mines of Mount Rammelsberg [2] . At the end of hostilities, the mint located in was transferred to Goslar. Gregor Eincorn was appointed his first Münzmeister [3] .
In a letter from 1542 to his Saxon ally, the Landgrass of Hesse proposes to begin issuing in Goslar common coins from silver mined in conquered lands. He suggested that this fact would have political significance, symbolizing the increased power and unity of the Schmalkalden Union [4] . Coins and medals depicting two monarchs were issued until 1547, when the troops of Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Mülberg defeated the forces of the Protestant alliance. For several years, several varieties of coins were issued depicting the two most influential leaders of the Schmalkalden Union [5] .
Coins were minted according to the weight standards laid down in the decree of Saxony on January 20, 1534. Schmalkalden union thalers produced a mass of 29.23 g of silver 902.78 samples [6] .
Notes
- ↑ Schmalkalden Union // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Heinrich der Jungere // Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. - Leipzig: Verlag von Duncker & Humblot, 1880. - Bd. 11. - S. 495-500.
- ↑ Eichelmann, 2010 , S. 59.
- ↑ Eichelmann, 2010 , S. 60–61.
- ↑ Eichelmann, 2010 , S. 62-66.
- ↑ Arnold Paul. Die sächsische Talerwährung von 1500 bis 1763 (German) - , 1980. - Bd. 59. - S. 64.
Literature
- Eichelmann Wolfgang. Münzen und Medaillen des Schmalkaldischen Bundes // Hessische Münzen und Medaillen. - Münster: MV-Verlag, 2010 .-- S. 58-66. - ISBN 978-3-86991-060-4 .
- Kahnt Helmut. Das große Münzlexicon von A bis Z. - 1. Auflage. - Regenstauf: Battenberg Verlag, 2005 .-- ISBN 3-89441-550-9 .
- Schrötter Friedrich Freiherr von. Wörterbuch der Münzkunde. - zweite, unveränderte Auflage. - Berlin: J. Guttenberg Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1970 .-- 757 S. - ISBN 978-3110012279 .