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1295, Meinhard II "the Elder". Early Silver Grosso Tirolino Coin. VF

Mint Place: Meran (Italy)
Referencea: CNA 345. var.
Mint Period: 1271-1295 AD
Denomination: Grosso Tirolino (Etschkreuzer)
Condition: Rough surfaces, nice patina, otherwise VF.
Diameter: 21mm
Material: Silver
Weight: 1.35gm

Obverse: Crowned heraldic eagle left.
Legend: + COMES ° TIROL

Reverse: A long cross splitting legends and circle with a smaller cross placed over it in 45 degree angle.
Legend: MEINARDVS

In 1271, Meinhard II of Tyrol issued a coin in Meran which initially was known as zwanziger (twenty) or tirolino. It was also called Zwanziger (piece of twenty) because it was worth 20 Veronese denarii. On account of its distinctive cross of Lorraine on one side it was soon called kreuzer (from German Kreuz, meaning cross). Here, too, an example of the fact that the market needed larger and heavier coins for settling payments. Important mints, such as Meran and later Hall, were set up in the Tyrol on account of the large deposits of ore. As a result of the extraordinary economic strength of the South Tyrol fairs the new currency spread rapidly.

The kreuzer with its reliable value became the small silver coin of early modern times. Emperor Frederick III introduced the kreuzer into Austria and made it the starting point of the further development of Austrian coinage (4 Viennese pfennigs = 1 kreuzer). Kreuzers continued to be used up into the 19th century.

Meinhard II, nicknamed the Elder (c. 1160 – 1231), a member of the House of Gorizia (Meinhardiner), was ruling Count of Gorizia from 1220 until his death. He also held the title of Vogt (Reeve) of the Patriarchate of Aquileia.

He was the younger son of Count Engelbert II of Gorizia (d. 1191) and his wife Adelaide, a daughter of the Bavarian count Otto I of Scheyern-Dachau-Valley, a progenitor of the ducal House of Wittelsbach.

Meinhard is known to have taken part in the German Crusade of 1197 launched by the Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI. He laid witness to the death of his friend, the Babenberg duke Frederick I of Austria with Bishop Wolfger of Passau, Count Eberhard of Dörnberg, Count Ulrich III of Eppan and Frederick's closest attendant on 16 April 1198 at Acre.

In 1220, Meinhard II succeeded his elder brother Engelbert III as Count of Gorizia. He died in 1231 and was succeeded by his nephew Meinhard III, who in 1253 also inherited the County of Tyrol.