103529 | GERMANY. Nürnberg. Copper Jeton or Rechenpfennig.

103529  |  GERMANY. Nürnberg. Copper Jeton or Rechenpfennig. Issued 1586-1613 (26mm x 27mm, 4.43 g, 12h). By Egidius & Hans II Krauwinckel.

 

EGIDI • ET • HANS KRAVWINCKEL, janiform head; floral scroll below // RECHEN PFENING, garnished shield bearing meerkat.

 

Stalzer 353; Neumann –; Mitchiner p. 434, 2 note; TCR 4515; Numismatische Zeitung, no. 26, vol. 32 (Dec. 1865), p. 208, 10. Choice Very Fine. Tan-brown surfaces, with some darker hues in the recesses. A rare and highly intriguing type.

 

Rechenpfennigen, German for "accounting pennies," are similar to other tokens or jetons that could serve reckoning, gaming, or even semi-numismatic functions. In particular, the rechenpfennigen were made famous by their various manufacturers in Nürnberg (Nuremberg) from the mid-late 16th century to the early 18th century, with a host of themes used as subject matter. These topics included history, mythology, contemporary political affairs, and even satire. Though many were intended as aids in accounting and bookkeeping (with an accounting board and these tokens taking the place of an abacus or slide rule), they were also useful in other functions, such as in the world of gaming—as poker chips—or in commerce and monetary transactions—as a substitute for harder currency.

 

Upload: 20 May 2026.