Nomos 5

Hapsburg. Early 17th century, c. 1619. Medal (Silver, 51mm, 10.48 g 12), A so-called “Judenmedaille”, produced by private minters in Prague to glorify the House of Hapsburg. ELISABETHA.FILIA.ANDR.REG.UNGAR.OBIT.MARB.M.CC.XXXI Crowned bust of St. Elizabeth of Hungary to left, within a tressure of 17 arcs. Rev. DISPERSIT.DEDIT.PAUP:IUST.EIUS.MANET.IN.SEDUL.SECULI View of the church of St. Elizabeth in Marburg; all within a tressure of 17 arcs. Bernhart 21. Hoffmeister 4. Klein B 21, Prince Alexander 3. Rare. A thin and beautifully toned original cast. Minor crack in casting, otherwise, extremely fine.

The large series of pseudo-medieval medals, long known as ‘Judenmedaille’ from their supposed manufacture by Jewish minters in Prague, were actually part of a very carefully thought out series designed to glorify the ancestors of the House of Hapsburg. They appear in different metals, primarily in silver with gold ones being particularly rare. This one bears a portrait of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) who had been the wife of Ludwig IV of Thuringia; on the reverse is the great church of St. Elizabeth in Marburg, which began to built in 1235 when Elizabeth was canonized. It was consecrated in 1283 but the towers were only finished in 1340. It is one of the earliest Gothic churches in Germany and was a model both for the cathedral of Cologne and for St. Paul’s Church in Strasbourg.