The Siege of Münster by its Bishop

Sale: Triton X, Lot: 918. Estimate $750.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $875. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Münster (Stadt). AR 50 Sols Taler Klippe (28.50 g). Siege coinage. Dated 1660. MONAST : WESTPH : OBSESSVM • 1660, coat of arms of Münster inside baroque frame; large jewel above / Blank. Mailliet 2; Peus 50; KM 323. VF, toned.

As one of the terms of the Peace of Westphalia, the town of Münster was to be ruled by a Catholic prince-bishop. Not long after the treaty was signed, the citizens of Münster rebelled against their ruler, Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen. Their goal was to raise Münster to the rank of an imperial free city, thus removing it from the influence of a local prince. In response, Bishop von Galen and his powerful army besieged the city, eventually putting down the insurrection and regaining control in March of 1661. This klippe is an emergency issue minted during the siege.