My “one coin from each city I visited” collection is finally complete, so I think it would be a fun thread to share the coins, pictures and history from each of the cities I visited. I will be posting one city per day, in the order which I visited them. There will be some repeats, but luckily I have some extra coins from these cities. So without further ado, let’s start with Metz as it is the first city I stayed in after flying into Paris. The first week was rather hectic as friends were made, food was bought, class schedules were figured out, and logistics were mapped out. During my first trip downtown, I was greeted with a row of 19th Century building of German style from when Metz was under German control. It was during this time that Metz got its German spelling, which was converted from Metensis (or Mettis or Metes). Since the French and the Germans didn’t have the most amicable relationship during the 19th and 20th centuries, the people of Metz try to pronounce the city’s name as “Mess” to avoid the German pronunciation. This was early January, so it was chilly and windy. Thus I limited my meandering to the area around the Republique bus station (pictured above). One of the first things I saw was some remnants of the Merovingian era of Metz: the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains. This basilica was a Roman bathhouse constructed in 380 AD, and was converted to a church in the 7th Century. In the 8th Century, the monks here invented Gregorian chant and a system of musical notation called neumes. These would develop into music as we know it today. The Merovingians set Metz as their Austrasian capitol, and the people of Metz supported the rulers. When Charlemagne came to power, he recalled this and nearly made Metz his city of residence. However, he chose Aachen instead, but both of his sons loved Metz enough to be buried in the basilica. Here is a crumbling wall and interesting floor pattern from the bathhouse. I took one of the pieces of stone that had already fallen off of the wall to represent this building (which is my favorite building in Metz). Here is another view of the bathhouse accompanied by some Roman pillars and a medieval house. There were several casket-shaped stones in the yard of the house (most easily seen in the far left of the picture), which I assumed to be graves. There were no markings on the stones to suggest one way or another, and their placement was very puzzling. Right next door was this structure. It is a church built by the Knights Templar between 1180 and 1220. The Templars first came to Metz in 1133 and stayed until the order was abolished. Much of the adjoining structure was destroyed when the order was abolished, fortunately leaving the church standing. There are some beautiful stained glass windows, but some of the young troublemakers found it prudent to throw rock as these windows and shatter some of the panes. I will go more in-depth in the history of Metz in future posts. As I learned more about the city, I made my visits downtown more deliberate to find the historic areas or buildings with stories. Stay tuned! Pictured here is a denier struck in the 8th Century under Merovingian Metz. I got this coin for about half of the going rate from a British auction. The design is very simple and I have yet to see one heavily circulated, but they are very scarce (almost rare). The obverse contains a D, likely for “Denarius”, and the reverse contains a ligate ME, likely for “Mettis”. Also pictured here is a gros struck in Metz between 1380 and 1550 (likely in the early part of that range due to the style). I bought this coin right before I left for Europe, so it is quite special despite being bent. The city’s name was abbreviated on this coin to METE, likely abbreviated from Metensis, the name used before and after this coin was struck.
Very interesting post, @TypeCoin971793 —of what must have been a fascinating trip. Great coins! Vandalism of ancient sites is sad, disturbing, and puzzling to me. I’ve reset my avatar featuring the Temple of Bel in the ancient city of Palmyra which was destroyed in 2015.
Hmm, you make me want to make a trip to Metz the next time in Europe. Nice coins btw. The gros is very well preserved.
You had a great time over in Europe, interesting history behind Metz. I tried to get some coins from that City, but always got outbid.
Very nice coins @TypeCoin971793 and those are some nice photos of Metz. Congrats on both accounts. The coins are very attractive, I'm sure the gros is a great coin in hand. I would love to get one for my own collection.
Thanks for sharing the journey, the history and the coins. That gros is beautiful and a new addition to my must have list!
In my first weekend, me and a group of around 14 acquaintances decided to take a day trip to Luxembourg City, which was a 40-minute train ride from Metz. We walked around the city admiring the architecture and creating havoc in the museums. Through this we got to know each other and had a great time. Luxembourg City has a history dating back to neolithic times based on archaeological evidence. Eventually these people would settle down and become the Treveri tribe, the same Celtic tribe after which Trier is named. The area was conquered by Julius Caesar in 53 BC, and the Treveri tribe quickly abopted Roman culture and cooperated with the Romans. The wealth of Roman artifacts unearthed around the city suggest that ancient Luxembourg was a fairly prosperous area. About three levels of the city’s archaeological museum are dedicated to Roman finds. Here’s an impressive mosaic floor Here are several of the plethora of stone tablets taken from Roman architecture and graves: Here is a model of a temple that was originally built in ancient Luxembourg: Between the fifth and tenth centuries, the area of Luxembourg passed hands many times as empires waxed and waned. In 963, Count Siegfried I traded land with the Abbot of St. Maximin’s Abbey of Trier and obtained the area of Luxembourg. It was called Lucilinburhuc, which was the name of a Roman fortification that was still standing at the time. He would build a castle of the site of the ruined fort, which he would call Bock Fiels. The location was strategically chosen as it was located on a Roman road which would aid trade with nearby cities. This event marked the beginning of the history of modern Luxembourg. Here are the remains of Bock Fiels. I saw them and explored them a bit, but for some reason did not take any pictures. This is not my photo. Here is the 963 deed between Count Siegfried I and the Abbot of St. Maximin Abbey, pictured in the Luxembourg City History Museum. As expected, due to its prime location, the population of Luxembourg greatly increased. The city and markets delepoved and enlarged outside of the castle’s walls. In addition, its location was also renowned for being militarily strategically valuable, so its fortifications increased throughout the medieval period and became one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. Luxembourg was an independent fief of the Holy Roman Empire until 1353, when the Luxembourg emperor Charles IV elevated it to the status of a duchy for his half-brother, Wenceslaus I. It was under the reign of Wensceslaus I when the official mint of Luxembourg opened, producing coin type seen below: To feast your eyes on more coins from the archeological museum, please visit my earlier thread. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/coins-at-the-luxembourg-museum.309177/ After a long day of walking around, we too pictures of the dusk cityscape and went to a couple places for food, drinks, and fun. And here is my coin of Luxembourg. Hammered coins struck in Luxembourg are surprisingly scarce and expensive. So when this example popped up on ebay for €40, I snepped it up before anyone could even ponder it. This is a demi gros struck by Elisabeth de Görlitz between 1425 and 1433. Her uncle, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, mortgaged Luxembourg to her and defaulted, leaving her in control of Luxembourg until she was expelled by Phillip III, Duke of Burgundy, in 1443.
For the second weekend, the same group of people who went to Luxembourg decided to hit three nearby cities. The first of these three was Trier, a small, historic German city near the German/French border. My writeup on the history of Trier and a bunch of fun pictures can be seen on the following thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-coins-in-the-trier-museums.309697/ Our first stop after coming in on the train was the Porta Nigra, which was a Roman gate turned into a residence/church in medieval times. Because of this, it was saved from being dismantled for raw building materials. This is by far the most famous structure and Trier, and the one which the city is most proud of. In fact, the Porta Nigra was featured on a commemorative 2-Euro coin. Since all of us were hungry, our next stop was food. Since there were several different tastes within our huge group, we all split up (and never found our way back together until the end of the day). Me and 3 other people took refuge in a breakfast shop and I had to satiate my sweet tooth with a waffle. Long story short, it was as good as the pictures imply. This was actually my first taste of Nutella. We then explored the medival square, which had centuries of architectural styles and was painted in many vibrant colors. It was obvious that the city’s leaders took a major effort to preserve the architectural heritage in the square. Our faction’s next stop was the Trier Dom, a beautiful Romanesque cathedral built on the site of the original Roman-era Church. This was actually the first cathedral I have ever been to, and it was definitely not disappointing. The interior was filled with Renaissance sculptures and paintings that really added to the atmosphere of awe. I then broke away from everyone else and went to the City history museum, housed in a medieval Romanesque house. It walked me through Trier’s medival history from the 10th Century to modern times. I spent a couple hours there and became woefully separated from the pack. After leaving, I heard that my friends were at the archaeological museum, so I started meandering that way, all the while admiring the ancient and medival architecture I stumbled upon along the way. I caught up with my friends at the Archaeological museum, but I got further distracted by their discussion of the museum’s coin collection. Of course, I stayed behind (they had already toured the museum) to see the magical collection for myself, and I was not disappointed. I was nearly ushered out by the guards as it was closing time, but they were kind enough to show me the coin room before they locked it up. After leaving the museum, I kinda played cat-and-mouse trying to catch up with my friends (they kept moving after telling me where they were), but I finally caught up to them Here is my medieval coin from Trier, struck under Baldwin of Luxembourg. Baldwin (or Badouin) of Luxembourg served as Trier’s archbishop from 1307 to 1354. He was elected into the position at 22 years old, and was very reluctantly recognized by the people of Trier. During his term, he greatly expanded the city’s territory and made it quite prosperous. This legacy of prosperity is one of the main reasons why Trier looks the way it does today. Here is his resting place in the Dom. I did not know his significance at the time I took the picture, but I am glad I took it.
Glad you had a great time! German food is the best, my motto,"who is counting calories....not me" There are many historically beautifull towns/ cities. My favorites are Rothenburg/ Worms/ Hamelin/ Rostock/ Lubeck. Just to carry the theme of your visit to Trier....one my coins from there.... AV Solidus ND struck 352AD Treveri Mint Western Emperor Magnetius 350-3AD
The next day we went to Strasbourg, France. This is another city on the France/Germany border that has traded hands many times during its long history. This shows in the architecture, street signs, and the fact that many of the residents knew both French and German. We first stopped in a small-ish church built in medival times, seen in the middle of the picture below. It was very quaint, and someone was playing the organ, so I found my stay to be very pleasing and relaxing. We wanted to go to the historic district, so we walked down the French road, which was a corridor built in the early 19th Century lined with buildings purely of the French style. The French did not exert much of an influence on the architecture until the mid-18th Century. Therefore, the more Germanic the architectural style, the older the area. We finally reached the Cathedral, which was not very hard to miss. This cathedral was the tallest building in the world for several centuries, and it was the first to surpass the height of the pyramids at Giza. However, the cathedral was closed and was going to remain closed for a couple more hours, so we decided to go to the city history museum. They had a pass you could purchase that would grant you entry into any of the museums for that day, so that is what I got. I soon became separated from my group as I lingered reading about the artifacts when they wanted to go ahead, and thus I became separated for the rest of the day. Upon leaving the museum, I stumbled across a little antique shop right next door. I was hoping that they had some coins, and I found a bunch of hammered/Roman coins in a display case full of metal detecting artifacts. Unfortunately, when I asked if I could buy the coins individually, the owner stated that she would only sell the collection completely intact. I didn’t ask for a price because I knew that it was going to be out of my reach. After that, I went to the city’s archaeological museum, which was well-laid-out in the basement of an 18th-Century palace. There were lots of fascinating items on display. To read more about the history of Strasbourg and the contents of the museums, here is my previous thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/another-old-city-strasbourg-france.310347/ By this time, the Cathedral was open so I entered through a side entrance hoping to get in. I was very pleasantly surprised that it was the entrance to climb the cathedral’s tower. For 4€, it was worth it, and the view was spectacular. Then I climbed down the hundreds of stairs and entered the cathedral proper. It was huge and beautiful, and there were tons of people there. There wasa minor service going on with the organ playing, so I enjohed listening to that as well. At this point, I finally caught up with 5 of my friends, and we decided to go to a place to eat. We found a classy Italian restaurant with a special of the day of whole pizzas for 4€. I also decided to buy my first alcohol and try some of the local Alsace wine. The pizza was delicious. The wine I tried was much less so. After fooding, the rest of my group met up in front of the cathedral, and we headed towards our hostel. On the way there, we found a grocery store, where everyone decided that it was a good idea to buy bottles of wine. I got a Gewurtraminer On the way there, we found a grocery store, where everyone decided that it was a good idea to buy bottles of wine. I got a bottle of Gewürztraminer, which would turn out to be my favorite wine in Europe. When we got checked in at our hostel, the wine started flowing and everyone got crazy, so I decided to stay in my room and enjoy the peace and quiet. Here is my coin from Strasbourg. It is a pfennig minted right after the official mint opened in 1374. The fleur de lis is a motif that is seen on nearly every hammered Strasbourg coin, starting with this one. I bought this one because it was uncirculated and has beautiful toning.
Thanks for showing us the wonderfull sights in Strasbourg! Here is a 1862-BB Strasbourg Mint AV 100 Francs Emperor Louis Napoleon III 1852-70
Very cook coins and pictures @TypeCoin971793 what a great trip! I would love to go to all off those cities one day. Your coin of Baldwin is a great one. I'll have to keep my eye out for one of those.
