This coin has got me stumped it is marked "sigillvm scaltegi" "civium de gelnhausen" "barbarossa gelnhausen" it is marked 986 which is the gold content they used in DUCATs. Also it is engraved "BILL 8-21-71". It weighs 4 Grams and is 3/4". It has been tested good for gold. Any help would be appreciated.
HELP 986 German Gold Coin Barbarossa Sigillvm DUCAT?
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unclemac
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i suspect it is some sort of commemorative medal and not a coin, perhaps to honor the emperor Freidrich I
https://www.deutsche-maerchenstrass...stinations/places-and-regions/view/gelnhausen
https://www.deutsche-maerchenstrass...stinations/places-and-regions/view/gelnhausen
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Red-Coat
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There seem to be multiple versions of this thing with the same obverse but different reverses and in a variety of metals including silver, gold and plated… but they’re not coins. They’re commemorative medallions. The obverse is of Frederick I as Holy Roman Emperor and his consort Empress Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy. The reverses generally show the city’s 12th Century St Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) or the city coat of arms.
“Barbarossastadt” is the generic name used for five German cities claiming a connection to the Emperor Frederick I (also known as ‘Barbarossa’ from his red beard), of which Gelnhausen is one. The others are Sinzig, Kaiserslautern, Altenburg, and Bad Frankenhausen but Gelnhausen’s claim to fame is that the city was founded by the Emperor in AD 1170.
Some of these medals have the dates 1170 — 1970 (like the one pictured below) and were produced for sale as souvenirs to mark the 800th anniversary of the city. Maybe they all were, or maybe the dated ones were special editions, but they’re all modern. I think the paucity of information about them (no-one on a German forum was able to say who actually produced them) is probably because they were very specific to the city and perhaps sold via its castle museum (or church?), and maybe only for a limited time.
I would assume that “Bill 8-21-71” is someone’s name and a date of 21st August 1971 (perhaps a birth date). It was clearly added as an inscription afterwards and not part of the original striking, so I would think this was intended as a keepsake and perhaps for a child born on that day. Bill of course isn’t a German name (except as the anglicised diminutive equivalent of Wilhelm) but then the date format of month-day-year isn’t usual for Germany either. It would normally be day.month.year (the conventional European format) and so was probably added by a non-German.
From prices realised in the past, they don’t appear to have significant value beyond their precious metal content.
“Barbarossastadt” is the generic name used for five German cities claiming a connection to the Emperor Frederick I (also known as ‘Barbarossa’ from his red beard), of which Gelnhausen is one. The others are Sinzig, Kaiserslautern, Altenburg, and Bad Frankenhausen but Gelnhausen’s claim to fame is that the city was founded by the Emperor in AD 1170.
Some of these medals have the dates 1170 — 1970 (like the one pictured below) and were produced for sale as souvenirs to mark the 800th anniversary of the city. Maybe they all were, or maybe the dated ones were special editions, but they’re all modern. I think the paucity of information about them (no-one on a German forum was able to say who actually produced them) is probably because they were very specific to the city and perhaps sold via its castle museum (or church?), and maybe only for a limited time.
I would assume that “Bill 8-21-71” is someone’s name and a date of 21st August 1971 (perhaps a birth date). It was clearly added as an inscription afterwards and not part of the original striking, so I would think this was intended as a keepsake and perhaps for a child born on that day. Bill of course isn’t a German name (except as the anglicised diminutive equivalent of Wilhelm) but then the date format of month-day-year isn’t usual for Germany either. It would normally be day.month.year (the conventional European format) and so was probably added by a non-German.
From prices realised in the past, they don’t appear to have significant value beyond their precious metal content.
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