1 Kreuzer    (sold for $14.0)

1666, Archbishopric of Salzburg, Max Gandolph. Nice Silver Kreuzer Coin. VF

Mint year: 1666?
Reference: KM-187
Denomination: Kreuzer
Diameter: 15mm
Material: Silver
Weight: 0.8gm

Obverse: Papal legate´s hat above cross-topped oval arms of Max Gandolph.
Legend: MAX:GAND:D:G:AR:EPS:

Reverse: Round arms in 8 armed cross, date in legend.
Legend: SALI SBVRG CENSI S : 1666?

The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire, roughly consisting of the present-day state of Salzburg (the ancient Roman city of Iuvavum) in Austria. Since 1648, the Archbishop of Salzburg has also borne the title Primas Germaniae ("First [Bishop] of Germania"). The powers of this title – now non-jurisdictional – are limited to being the Pope's first correspondent in the German-speaking world, but used to include the right to summon the Prince-electors. The Archbishop also has the title of legatus natus ("permanent legate") to the Pope, which, although not a cardinal, gives the Archbishop the privilege of wearing a cardinal's scarlet vesture, even in Rome.

Max Gandolph, was born in 1622 of an old noble family in Ganz, Styria and was elected as Archbishop of Salzburg in 1668. Even in the beginning of Archbishop Max Gandolph's rule, other problems took precedence. In 1669, 62 Dürrnberger mine workers drowned in salt.

On July 16, 1669, a landslide killed 200 people. Gandolph's reign was not free from war worries either: France occupied Lorraine in 1670, and raised territorial claims to which Gandolph responded with a contingent under Major von Freysing. A Turkish danger threatened Vienna in the year 1683. Lastly, the infamous Black Jacket witch trials, where 200 people had been tortured and killed at the behest of Gandolph, had just ended.

Therefore, after around 1683, Gandolph had more time to devote to the issue of religious dissent, and he did not like dissent. He was, above all else, an administrator with a zest for regulation and rules. Under his reign, new regulations were issued in abundance and included, among other things, new police regulations, fire prevention orders, safety ordinances, firearms laws, loitering regulations, an alms order of 1678 which included a 'beggar land registry', a cleanliness order for the roads and disease protection regulations in 1679. A cleanliness order for religion was next.