Mainz 1445 groschen
This specimen was lot 4684 in Künker sale 386 (Osnabrück, March 2023), where it sold for €440 (about US$569 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MAINZ, ERZBISTUM, Dietrich I. von Erbach, 1434-1459. Weißpfennig (Groschen) 1445, Bingen. Hüftbild des Hl. Petrus unter gotischem Dach, unten das Familienwappen des Erzbischofs//Das quadrierte Wappen (Mainz/Erbach) in Dreipaß umgeben von den Wappen von Köln, Bayern (für Pfalz) und Trier. R Kl. Schrötlingsfehler am Rand, sehr schön. (archbishopric of Mainz, Dietrich of Erbach, 1434-59, white penny or groschen of 1445, Bingen mint. Obverse: half-length bust of St. Peter, under a Gothic dais, under the family arms of the archbishop; reverse: quartered arms of Mainz and Erbach in three shields with the arms of Cologne and Bavaria and Trier. Rare, small edge defect, very fine.)"
The Weißpfennig 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: silver, this specimen 1.98 g.
Catalog reference: Slg. Walther 135; Levinson I-77; Slg. Pick 176; Link 78.
- 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]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 386: Brakteaten | Mainz | Bibliothek Prof. Dr. Niklot Klüßendorf | Mittelalter und Neuzeit | Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2023.
Link to:
- Trier 1448 groschen
- Mainz (1454-56) groschen = weißpfennig, Dietrich I von Erbach
- (1462-63) goldgulden, Mainz mint, Adolf II of Nassau
- Trier (1464) weisspfennig = groschen = albus
- Coins and currency dated 1445