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1380, Hamburg (Free Imperial City). Silver Witten (4 Pfennig, Veerling) Coin. R!

Mint Place: Hamburg
Mint Period: ca. 1380-1400
Denomination: Witten (4 Pfennig, Veerling)
Reference:  Gaedechens 1091, Jesse 303, Saurma 3411.
Condition: Weakly struck area, dark toning, otherwise VF+
Diameter:  19mm
Weight: 1.32gm
Material: Silver

Obverse: City-gates with three towers.
Legend: xx MONЄTA hAMBVRGЄnS'

Reverse: Cross pattée with nettles in angles.
Legend: * BЄnЄDICTVS xx DЄVS'

In 1189, by imperial charter, Frederick I "Barbarossa" granted Hamburg the status of a Free Imperial City and tax-free access (or free-trade zone) up the Lower Elbe into the North Sea. In 1265, an allegedly forged letter was presented to or by the Rath of Hamburg. This charter, along with Hamburg's proximity to the main trade routes of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, quickly made it a major port in Northern Europe. Its trade alliance with Lübeck in 1241 marks the origin and core of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities. On 8 November 1266, a contract between Henry III and Hamburg's traders allowed them to establish a hanse in London. This was the first time in history that the word hanse was used for the trading guild of the Hanseatic League. In 1270, the solicitor of the senate of Hamburg, Jordan von Boitzenburg, wrote the first description of civil, criminal and procedural law for a city in Germany in the German language, the Ordeelbook (Ordeel: sentence).  On 10 August 1410, civil unrest forced a compromise (German: Rezeß, literally meaning: withdrawal). This is considered the first constitution of Hamburg.

Hamburg, officially Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg),   is the second largest city in Germany and the thirteenth largest German   state. Its population is over 1.8 million people, and the Hamburg   Metropolitan Region (including parts of the neighbouring Federal States   of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein) has more than 5 million   inhabitants. The port of Hamburg, on the river Elbe, is the second   largest port in Europe (after the Port of Rotterdam) and tenth largest   worldwide.

The official name reflects its history as a member of   the medieval Hanseatic League, as a free imperial city of the Holy   Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before   the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a fully sovereign state. Prior   to the constitutional changes in 1919, the stringent civic republic was   ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten.

Hamburg is a major transport hub and is one of the   most affluent cities in Europe. It has become a media and industrial   centre, with plants and facilities belonging to Airbus, Blohm + Voss and Aurubis. The radio and television broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk and publishers such as Gruner + Jahr and Spiegel-Verlag are pillars of the important media industry in Hamburg. Hamburg has   been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of the   world's second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank.