bavarikon4UDescription
Obverse: The archduke standing upright clad in armour. He is crowned with the archducal hat and holds the sceptre.
Reverse: Knight on horseback galloping to the right with the date below. Around it, 16 coats of arms distributed in a circle.
This type of coin is known under the term of “Guldengroschen”, “Guldiner” and “Taler” (guldiner and taler). Sigismund the Münzreiche (lit. “rich in coins”) started to mint silver coins at the value of a “Goldgulden” (gold guilder) in the year 1486, since he had large silver quarries in the Tyrol but suffered from a lack of gold appropriate for minting. The minting of “Großsilbermünzen” (large-size silver coins) at the value of a gold guilder was going to be imitated soon also north of the Alps and would decisively influence the European coinage system for the coming centuries. This taler was minted in Hall in the Tyrol, i.e. in one of the most progressive minting regions in Europe of this time. The wealth of detail is impressive and attested by the particularly precise representation of the coats of arms and armour on obverse and reverse.