For Lordmarcovan... Here is one of my early dated European coins. AV Goldgulden 1497 Frankfurt Mint 3.50g. 22mm. Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor 1493-1508 Issued for the Imperial City of Frankfurt
Thanks! Yes, Medieval era ends with the termination of the "Hundred Years War" circa 1450. From that point on we have the "Renaissance era"
Thanks @panzerman! Wikipedia (not that I trust this source) says medieval is about 500-1500 AD, which is why I though I'd ask.
Oh... HECK... YEAH! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! I love those little curlicue 4's that look like a piece of ribbon. The 7 on your coin's date is different than I am used to seeing it. They usually look like inverted V's. Here it looks like a ">". It's amazing to think that only in the last five centuries or so have something so basic like the numerals we use in everyday numbers changed so much. It's almost like they were still changing their mind on how to write or engrave a 7. And the 4's are often shown at strange angles, too. As to "late medieval" versus "Renaissance", that's something of a slippery slope. Just as what constitutes an "ancient" coin is (since Byzantine- or if you prefer Romaion- coins continued so late). Sometimes things like this don't always fit neatly into boxes or categories, and there is debate and disagreement. I think you could pretty safely say this coin is "late medieval" or "Renaissance-era" and not really be wrong either way. If you ask me, neither panzerman nor Wikipedia are wrong. It's just that the transition period gets blurred (in this case, by 50 years).
