The Siege of Minden

Sale: Triton X, Lot: 914. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $330. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Minden. AR 8 Mariengroschen Klippe (4.01 g, 3h). Siege coinage. Dated 1634. • (rosette) • / MINDA / OBSE[SS]A / • 1 • 6 • 3 [• 4 •] in four lines / • 8 • / GROS • / • CHEN • / • [(rosette)] • in four lines; coat of arms of Minden (crossed keys) stamped over (rosette). Stange 175; Mailliet 1; KM 11. VF, toned, minor scratches.

The bishopric of Minden was besieged during the Thirty Years’ War by Georg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was in league with the invading forces of Sweden as they swept in from the north. After the war, Minden was stripped of its ecclesiastical role and given to Brandenburg in the Peace of Westphalia.