The ''Guter Groschen'' ("good ''groschen''"), also ''Gutergroschen'' or ''Gutegroschen'', abbreviation ''Ggr.'', is name of the ''groschen'' coin that was valued at of a ''

Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for th ...

'' from the end of the 16th century. It was called a "good ''groschen''" to distinguish it from the lighter '' Mariengroschen'' ("Mary's ''groschen''"), which was only valued at ''Reichsthaler''. The term ''Guter Groschen'' remained common until the middle of the 19th century.

History

According to the Imperial Circle decision of 1572 the ''groschen'', which depicted an orb on the reverse side, were initially valued at 21 to the ''Reichsthaler'', but later 24. These so-called ''

Apfelgroschen The Apfelgroschen is an historical German coin that was a type of ''Guter Groschen'' ("good ''groschen''"). It was minted from about 1570 and was so called because it depicted the imperial orb (''Reichsapfel'', literally "imperial apple") with the ...

'' were mainly minted in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

. During the time of

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

ing, the ''Kipper'' and ''Wipper'' period, they were debased. After the ''Kipper'' mints were closed, they were minted as ''Gutegroschen'' with a higher value. The ''Groschen'' name was initially intended to express the return to the

Imperial Minting Ordinance Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

(''Reichsmünzordnung'') and thus to good money. Subsequently, the name also became common for the ''groschen'' valued at ''Reichsthaler'', which had been struck since the end of the 16th century. The mints tried to replace the unstable ''Mariengroschen'' with the ''Guter Groschen'' at ''Reichsthaler'', but they continued to circulate as ''Reichsthaler''. In the trade manual, ''Salomon Haas leicht und deutlich erklärte Waaren-Calculation of 1769, the relationship of coins to the ''Guter Groschen'' is illustrated with examples from

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

and Brunswick: : Brandenburg and Saxon coins. : 1 '' Rthl.'' = 24 ''Guter Groschen.'' : 1 ''Guter Groschen'' = 12 '' Pfennings.'' : Brunswick coins. : 1 ''Rthl''. = 24 ''Guter Groschen'' = 36 ''Mariengroschen.'' : 1 ''Guter Grosche''n = 12 ''pfennigs.'' : 1 ''Mariengroschen'' = 8 ''pfennigs.'' : ..The ratio of the Saxon coins is the same as that of Brandenburg.'Salomon Haas leicht und deutlich erklärte Waaren-Calculation, worinnen alle …'', Frankfurt, 1769, pp. 7,10

References

Literature

* Paul Arnold, Harald Küthmann, Dirk Steinhilber: ''Großer Deutscher Münzkatalog von 1800 bis heute''. Augsburg 1997 * Lienhard Buck: ''Die Münzen des Kurfürstentums Sachsen 1763 bis 1806.'' Berlin 1981 * Heinz Fengler, Gerd Gierow, Willy Unger: ''transpress Lexikon Numismatik'', Berlin 1976, S. 135 Guter Groschen
Bernd Kluge: ''Für 8 Groschen ist’s genug. Friedrich der Große in seinen Münzen und Medaillen'', Museumsjournal 1/2012
* Wolfgang Leschhorn: ''Braunschweigische Münzen und Medaillen. 1000 Jahre Münzkunst und Geldgeschichte in Stadt und Land Braunschweig'', Appelhans-Verlag 2010, S. 199–202, ISBN 978-3-941737-22-8. * Friedrich Freiherr von Schrötter (ed.), mit N. Bauer, K. Regling, A. Suhle, R. Vasmer, J. Wilcke: ''Wörterbuch der Münzkunde'', de Gruyter, Berlin 1970 (reprint of the 1930 original) * Arthur Suhle: ''Die Münze. Von den Anfängen bis zur europäischen Neuzeit'', Leipzig 1969

External links

{{Groschen Silver coins Coins of the Holy Roman Empire Monetary policy Groschen