A ''Bürgermeisterpfennig'' is a small

silver coin Silver coins are one of the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 B ...

that was issued in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

after the death of a

Mayor of Hamburg The government of Hamburg is divided into Executive (government), executive, Legislature, legislative and judiciary, judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and ...

on the occasion of his funeral and which depicted the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

as well as the biographical information and dates of office of the deceased

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

History

In older times it was customary in Hamburg, at the funeral of a mayor, to distribute small coins worth a quarter of a

thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

to the students who were singing ahead of the hearse and perhaps to others in the funeral procession. The family of Mayor Johann Schrött, who died in 1676, first had the idea of having their own coin minted for this purpose. On the next few occasions, however, this example was not followed; instead twelve schilling pieces were handed out again. It was not until 1697, when Mayor Johann Schulte died, that his family had his own

pfennig The pfennig (; . 'pfennigs' or 'pfennige' ; currency symbol, symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former Germany, German coin or note, which was an official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valua ...

minted again. After that, the tradition was continued. At first they were content to mint them from 1/2

Lot Lot, LOT, The Lot or similar may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *A great many of something, as in, "There are a lot of beetles," or "There are ...

of thaler silver; in later times, however, they were made of fine silver and varied in weight according to how wealthy and generous the deceased's family was. Several ''Bürgermeisterpfennigs'' have become quite valuable and there are also isolated cases where several coins of different weights and sizes were made at the same time. The smaller ones were distributed, for example, to the students, the larger ones to persons of higher rank. In more recent times, there has been a move away from large, ceremonial funeral processions, so there has been no distribution of gifts to students and other mourners, and it has been sufficient to distribute the pfennigs to members of the

Hamburg Senate The government of Hamburg is divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and local community politics. It takes place in two ...

, Hamburg College of Elders and to the relatives and friends of the deceased. The mayors received golden specimens, which is why they also appear every now and then, albeit very rarely. As a rule, they depict the

family crest A crest is a component of a heraldry, heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the Helmet (heraldry), helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournament (medieval), tournaments and, to a lesser exten ...

of the deceased with their name, dates of birth, election and death on the

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

and emblems or allusions to their character and merits on the reverse. In more recent times a bust portrait has often been incorporated.

List of ''Bürgermeisterpfennigs''

References

Literature

* Franklin Kopitzsch, Daniel Tilgner (eds.): ''Hamburg-Lexikon.'' 2. durchgesehene Auflage. Zeise, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-9805687-9-2. * Johann Paul Langermann: ''Hamburgisches Münz- und Medaillen-Vergnügen oder Abbildung und Beschreibung Hamburgischer Münzen und Medaillen''. Hamburg 1753. * Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte (publ.): ''Hamburgische Münzen und Medaillen.'' 3 vols. Meißner, Hamburg 1850–1876. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgermeisterpfennig Coins of Germany History of Hamburg