Cologne 1447 weisspfennig
This specimen was lot 469 in Jean Elsen sale 161 (Brussels, March 2025), where it sold for €180 (about US$234 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ALLEMAGNE, COLOGNE, Archevêché, Dietrich von Mörs (1416-1463), AR Weisspfennig, 1447, Riel. D/ A' DNI' M-CCCCXLVI B. de saint Pierre de f. dans un édifice gothique, ten. un sceptre cr. et une clé. En dessous, écu de Mörs. R/ MONE'- NOVA- RILE' Écu écartelé dans un trilobe anglé, cantonné des écussons de Mayence, Trèves et Bavière. Rare. Fêlures du flan. (Germany, archbishopric of Cologne, Dietrich of Mörs, 1416-63, silver white penny of 1447, Riel mint. Obverse: date in Roman numerals, facing bust of St. Peter under a Gothic dais, bearing a scepter and a key, arms of Mörs below; reverse: quartered arms in an angled trilobe, cantonned with shields of Mainz, Trier and Bavaria. Rare, flan cracks, Fine - Very Fine.)"
The Weißpfennig or blanken was struck by the archbishops of Trier, Mainz and Cologne at Coblenz, starting in the late fourteenth century. It became popular because of its good alloy. It was eventually copied by numerous petty princes along the Rhine.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.99 g, silver, 24 mm diameter, this specimen is 1,82 g.
Catalog reference: Noss 382; Levinson I-81.
- Craig, William D., Germanic Coinages: Charlemagne through Wilhelm II, Mountain View, CA: 1954.
- Levinson, Robert, The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500: An Illustrated Catalogue and Guide to dated medieval coinage. Clifton, NJ: Coin & Currency Institute, 2007.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 161, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
Link to:
- MCCCCXXXVIII goldgulden
- MCCCCXLIX (1449) weisspfennig, Dietrich von Mörs
- Trier (1464) weisspfennig
- Mainz (1477-82) groschen = weißpfennig, Dietrich II von Isenburg zu Büdingen
- Coins and currency dated 1447