The
Rhenish
gulden
or
Rhenish
guilder
(
German
:
Rheinischer Gulden
;
Latin
:
florenus Rheni
) was a gold, standard
currency coin
of the
Rhineland
in the 14th and 15th centuries. They weighed between 3.4 and 3.8 grams (0.12?0.13 oz).
History
[
edit
]
The Rhenish gold
gulden
was created when the
electors
of
Cologne
,
Trier
and
Mainz
were rewarded for their support in the election of
Charles IV
with a right to mint gold coins (
Goldmunzprivileg
), a right derived from the
Golden Bull
. Trier was given the privilege on 25 November 1346, Cologne on 26 November 1346 and Mainz on 22 January 1354.
The Rhenish
gulden
or
florin
began in 1354 as a copy of the Florentine
florin
(weight
1
⁄
66
th a
Cologne Mark
of gold, 23
1
⁄
4
karats fine, or 3.43 g fine gold). However, by the early 15th century it has lost nearly one quarter of its gold content. In 1419 it was
1
⁄
67
th a Cologne Mark of gold, 19 karats fine; hence 2.76 g fine gold.
[1]
As a result of the widespread minting of gold
guldens
by the electors of Cologne, Mainz, Trier and the
Electorate of the Palatinate
(Rhine Minting Association), Rhenish
guldens
achieved significance in the 14th and 15th centuries and became the base currency of the Rhine region. Due to a lack of gold there was a shortage of
gulden
in the late 15th and 16th century, and they were even minted with a gold content reduced by up to a half.
The
Reichsmunzordnung
or imperial minting ordinances of the
Holy Roman Empire
from 1524 to 1559 prescribed uniform minting standards for the Rhenish
gulden
. In 1559 the latter was prescribed as
1
⁄
72
nd a
Cologne Mark
of gold, 18
1
⁄
2
karats - hence, 2.50 g fine gold. This standard Rhenish
gulden
was minted until the 18th century, and was minted concurrently with the gold
ducat
.
[2]
Importance
[
edit
]
Rhenish gold
guldens
were of central importance to the German monetary system until modern times. It developed into the most common long-distance trading coin in
Bohemia
,
Hungary
,
Germany
,
Switzerland
,
Moravia
, the
Netherlands
,
Spain
and
France
. Not only gold, but also silver coins were valued according to their value in Rhenish
guldens
, and thus their rate (value) was set.
The annual rent in the
Augsburg
Fuggerei
is to this day a Rhenish
gulden
(€0.88 today).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Circulating
| |
---|
Defunct
| |
---|
As a denomination
| |
---|
Proposed
| |
---|
See also
| |
---|
|