"Rhine guilders" coin stamp / 14th century - ON ORDER

Diameter 22 mm. hardened steel. 14th century.

On June 8, 1386, four electors - the Palatine Count of the Rhine Ruprecht I, the Archbishop of Mainz Adolf, the Archbishop of Cologne Friedrich, and the Archbishop of Trier Kuno - created the Rhine Coin Union in order to achieve uniform coin minting in the interests of developing trade. The member states of the union have adopted the weight and design of gold coins. They went down in history as the “Rhine Guilders”. Initially, the content of pure gold in them was 3.39 g, but gradually due to the lack of precious metal they were damaged. At the beginning of the 16th century, the gold content in the Rhine guilders decreased to 2.5 g. On the obverse of these coins, John the Baptist, later the Apostle Peter or Jesus Christ, was first depicted. On the reverse were the coats of arms of the members of the Rhine Monetary Union.