102056 | GERMANY. Nürnberg. Copper Rechenpfennig.

102056  |  GERMANY. Nürnberg. Copper Rechenpfennig. Issued circa 1580-1610. (27mm, 5.43 g, 12h). By H. Laufer.

 

DEN KVMPT DER DODT GIBT DEN LON, skeleton standing left within a graveyard and wielding a spear; in background, church to right // ARBEIT VND TVGENT MACHT EDEL, infant Christ standing slightly left, raising hand in benediction and holding orb.

 

Neumann 32331; Aspects of Death and Correlated Aspects of Life in Art, Epigram, and Poetry, p. 567. Choice Very Fine. Tan-brown surfaces, with a lighter nature on the higher points. A very rare and haunting type, and the first of the type that we have seen.

 

Rechenpfennigen, German for "accounting pennies," are similar to other tokens or jetons that could serve reckoning, gaming, or even semi-numismatic functions. In particular, the rechenpfennigen were made famous by their various manufacturers in Nürnberg (Nuremberg) from the mid-late 16th century to the early 18th century, with a host of themes used as subject matter. These topics included history, mythology, contemporary political affairs, and even satire. Though many were intended as aids in accounting and bookkeeping (with an accounting board and these tokens taking the place of an abacus or sliderule), they were also useful in other functions, such as in the world of gaming—as poker chips—or in commerce and monetary transactions—as a substitute for harder currency.

 

Upload: 15 March 2024.