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      Contemporaries in the Holy Roman Empire      

Albert of Brandenburg
- Archbishop of Magdeburg and Mayence 1514-45 -
Albert, *1490, Margrave of Brandenburg, became Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1513 and of Mayence in 1514 without having studied theology. In order to gain the pope's agreement to holding more than one diocese, contrary to church law, Albert made a large contribution to the rebuilding of St. Peter's in Rome. These funds, borrowed from the banking house of Fugger, were to be repaid by selling indulgences. Martin Luther condemned this practice in his famous Ninety-five Theses in 1517. In 1518 Albert became cardinal. His vote for Charles V as emperor was well paid in 1519. Albert was a religious liberal, but late in life he promoted the Counter-Reformation in Germany.


Cast silver medal 1515.     Ø 50 mm, 52,50 g.  Exposed in room 244, Bode Museum Berlin
and presemted in the Online Catalogue of the Coin Cabinet, Berlin.
Obv.:   ALBertus ARCHIepiscopus PRImas ET PRINcwps ELECror MARchio BRAndenburgicus
Bust with beret and necklace.
Rev.:   IN - POTENTATIBVS·S - ALVS - DEX - TERA·DOMINI·AN - NO - MD - XV
"The hand of the Lord helps with power [psalm 20, 7] date 1515".
Coat of arms with eight fields: Szczecin, Brandenburg, Pomerania, Kaschuben, Wenden, Zollern and Nuremberg; topped with three heart shields: Mainz, Magdeburg and Halberstadt.
Three crosiers behind, looking out at the top and the bottom of the shield.


Cast bronze medal n. d. (1518) by Hans Schwarz.     Ø 74 mm.   Habich I,1 113; Kastenholz 21.
Specimen from Coin Cabinet KHM Vienna, Inv.No.96bß   published in Vorbild, Austausch, Konkurrenz.
Obv.: ⚛SIC·ILLE·GENAS·OCVLOS·SIC·ORA·FEREBAT·ETATIS·XXVIII
"His cheeks and eyes, his outline at the age of 28"  -  Effigy with biretta to the left.
Rev.: ⚛ALBERTus·SAcrae·ROmanae·ECclesiae·PRESByter·CARDinalis·ARCHIEPiscopus·MAGdeburgensis· BI(et?)·MAYD(Mayance?)·PRINceps
⚛ELECTor·PRImas·GERmanea·EPISCopus·HALBerstadiensis·Z(et)·MARCHio·BRANDENburgensis
Cardinal's hat with tassels over a coat of arms with four fields (Brandenburg, Pomerania, Nuremberg, Zollern) and a central shield (Magdeburg, Mainz and Halberstadt), crossed crook and sword behind.
An associated draft drawing 21x15cm has been preserved in the state Coin Cabinet Berlin.
A real "portrait fever" broke out among the participants at the diet in Augsburg 1518/19. Albrecht Dürer was very busy. Hans Schwarz received 19 orders for medals. High-ranking participants had discovered a new medium of representation.


Recast as lead medal n. d. by Valentin Maler.     Ø 42 mm, 19,51 g.   Habich II,1 2632.
Specimen in the city archive of Mainz.
Obv.:   ALB:D.G.CAR:ET LEG:NA:MO:AC.MA
Hip portrait in bishop's regalia to the half left, on the breast an oval medallion with Christ on the cross, a closed book in his left hand, pointing to the book with the index finger of his right hand.
Rev.:   ARCHIEP:PRIM:PR. - EL.ADM:HALB:AC MA:B.  -  Quartered coat of arms (1) Mainz (2) Brandenburg (3) Zollern (4) Mainz, in oval, richly decorated cartouche, above bishop's mitre next to crozier.


Uniface stuck of the double Guldengroschen 1524.     Ø 41 mm, 46,6 g.   (see Dav.9425).
SIC·OCVLOS·Sic·ILLE Genas·Sic·ORA·FEREBat   "Such eyes, such cheeks, such appearance".


Collector's production of a thaler 1524.     46,6 g   see v.Schr.62; Dav.-.
Obv. similar as before.   //   Rev. ALBERTI·BRANDENBVRGICI·, similar to the following obverse.


Thaler, 1525, Magdeburg.     Ø 41mm     v.Schr.63   Dav.9428/30
Obv.:   ALBERTus·CARDInalis·ARCHIEpiscopus·MAGDeburgensis·
"Albert, Cardinal Archbishop of Magdeburg"
Coat of arms: Brandenburg, Pommern-Stettin (griffin), Nuremberg, Hohenzollern
on it a central shield: Archdiocese Magdeburg and Mayance (wheel), diocese Halberstadt.
Sword and crook stick crossed behind the coat of arms. Above the cardinal's hat.
Rev.:   DOMINVS MIHI·ADIVTOR·QVEM·TIMEbo (mm.)
"The Lord is my helper, whom shall I fear?"
The model for the portrait was an engraving [18x13 cm], made by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) during the diet at Nuremberg in 1523.


Cast silver medal 1526, Nürnberg, by Matthes Gebel.     Ø 43,5mm, 32,11g.   Habich I,2,923.
Obv.:   DOMINVS·MIHI·ADIVTOR·QVEM·TIMEBO·ANNo·ÆTATis·XXXVII·
"God is my advice. Whom shall I fear? At the age of 37"  -  Bust with beret to the right.
Note the high relief of the front side, the casting technique allows.
Rev.:   ·ALBERTus·CARDinalis·MOGuntinus·ARCHIEPiscopus·MAGDdegurgensis·HALBerstatt·ADM· MARCHio·BRANDenburgensis·ZC MDXXVI
Title of Albert [Moguntiacum = Mayence] and date
Cardinal's hat over coat of arms with central shield (Magdeburg, Mayance and Halberstadt),
crossed crook and sword behind.


Silver medal 1535 by H. Reinhart the Older.     Ø 56 mm, 80,24 g.   Habich II,1 1941.
With border punches Mainz wheel (coat of arms) and HR, separated by a tremulier line.
Obv.:   DOMINVS⁕MIHI⁕ADIVTOR⁕QVEM⁕TIMEBO⁕ANN⁕AEAT⁕45⁕
"God is my protector, whom should I fear? At the age of 45"
Half-length portrait right with biretta, in the section the signature ·HR·.
Rev.:   ALBERT◦CARD◦MOG◦ARCHIEP◦MAGD◦HALB◦ADM◦MARC◦BRAND◦ZC⁕1535⁕
Cardinal's hat over fifteen-field coat of arms with small central shield (Magdeburg, Mainz and Halberstadt), sword and crozier crossed behind, to the sides St. Barbara and St. Moritz as shield holders.
Vergleich zu dieser Medaille ausführlich: Eichelmann, Wolfgang, Betrachtungen zu einer Medaille des Kardinals Albrecht von Brandenburg aus dem Jahr 1535 und zu den Mainzer Goldschmiede- und Beschauzeichen des 16. Jahrhunderts, Hamburg 2019. Eichelmann schreibt dort S.22 f. zusammenfassend zu diesem Exemplar: "Die von uns beschriebene Medaille auf das 45. Lebensjahr Kardinal Albrechts aus dem Jahr 1535 zeigt als Punze das Medailleurszeichen HR von Hans Reinhart dem Älteren, die andere Punze zeigt (...) das Mainzer Rad und dazwischen den Tremulierstrich. Daraus folgt eindeutig, das Hans Reinhart der Ältere diese Medaille produziert hat. Die zweite Punze mit dem Mainzer Rad ist das Beschauzeichen des Jacob Faust. Er war Mainzer Bürger und Zunftmeister und Vorsteher der Mainzer Goldschmiedezunft. Er wurde am 3. März 1524 von Kardinal Albrecht zum Wardein bestellt und bekleidete damit auch, wie es bei den münzberechtigten Ständen üblich war, das Amt des Beschaumeisters. Bei der Randpunze handelt es sich also um ein Hoheitszeichen, ein Amtssiegel, in Form einer Punze, zu deren Führung nur der Beschaumeister befugt und berechtigt war. Aus dem Dargelegten ist der Schluss zu ziehen, dass die beschriebene Medaille (...) eine Auftragsarbeit Kardinal Albrechts war, die von Hans Reinhart im Jahr 1535 gefertigt und vom Beschaumeister und Wardein Jacob Faust geprüft und für gut befunden wurde." Bei dem vorliegenden Stück handelt es sich um die Einzige uns bis dato bekannte Renaissancemedaille mit zeitgenössischem Amtssiegel und darüber hinaus dem frühesten überhaupt geführten Mainzer Beschauzeichen und ist damit auch von besonderer kunst- und kulturhistorischer Bedeutung.


Thaler, 1536, Magdeburg.     Ø 41mm     v.Schr.79/81; Dav.9432.
Obv.:   ALBERTus·CARDInalis·ARCHIEpiscopus·MAGDeburgensis·
Rev.:   DOMINus:MIHI·ADIVTOR·QVEM·TIMEBo 1536 (mm.)
This portrait of an older Albrecht was only used on the 1536 thaler.

The cardinal loved to give away his own portrait. So he became an important customer of commemorative coins and medals. For his self-glorification, he also employed eminent painters such as Lucas Cranach, Albrecht Dürer and Matthias Grünewald.


Cast lead medal 1537.     Ø 43,8 mm.     Habich II,I 1857.
Obv.:   DOMIMVS·MIHI·ADIVTOR·QVEM·TIMBO·ÆTAT·XLVIII
Bust half-left with baret, based on a design by Lucas Cranach. Next to the neck collector's star.
Rev.:   ALBERTVS·CARDINALIS·ET·ARCHI·EPVS·MOGVNT·ANNO·M·D·XXXVII
Compare the Portrait from 1543 by the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder, Oil on wood, Inv.No.304.
(landesmuseum-mainz.de).

The outer wreath on the revers appears in the following smaller medal on the obverse.


Gold plated cast silver medal 1537.     Ø 32,6 mm, 16,23 g.     Habich II,I 1858.
Specimen in the Stadtarchiv Mainz.
Obv.:   ✱DNVS:MIHI·ADIVTOR·QVEM·TIMEBO ANNO ÆTATIS XL VIII
Bust to the left, beardless, with biretta and flowered skirt. Laurel wreath on the rim.
Rev.:   ✱ALBERTVS·CARDINALIS·ET·ARCHI·EPVS·MOGVNT·ANNO·M·D·XXXVII
Quartered coat of arms: (1) Brandenburg, (2) Pommern (3), Nürnberg (4), Zollern, overlaid with
the three ecclesiastical shields Magdeburg, Mainz and Halberstadt, behind to cross staff,
sword and crosier, above the cardinal's hat.


Thaler 1538, Magdeburg.     Ø 40 mm, 28,49 mm.     v.Schr.89; Dav.9433.
ALBERT·CARDI·ARCHIE·MAGD·   //   DOMIN9MIHI·ADIVTOR·QVEM·TIM:1538(mm.)
The late Thalers from 1537-42 made use of the effigy from the younger Albert.

Ref.:
• v. Schrötter, F.: Beschreibung der neuzeitlichen Münzen des Erzstifts und der Stadt Magdeburg
    1400-1682, 171 S., 36 Tfn. Berlin 1909, Nachdr.1991.
• Klaus Kindermann: Das Münzwesen des Markgrafen Albrecht von Brandenburg, mt 9/1980, S.28-31.
• Ruth Hansmann: Zwischen Medaille, Grafik und Malerei - zu kulturellen Transferprozessen in höfischen
    Porträtkonzepten in: Vorbild, Austausch, Konkurrenz - Höfe und Residenzen in der gegenseitigen
    Wahrnehmung. S.61-82, Kiel 2009.

extended 10.2015, 9.2019 & 4.2023

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