The town of Saalfeld passed from the Schwarzburgs to the Wettins in 1389, and remained in their possession until the November Revolution and the abolition of the monarchies in Germany in 1918. The castle-like building of the mint was built as early as 1551 under the Ernestine Duke of Saxony. Initially, the administration of the Saalfeld office was housed here. During the division of Erfurt in 1572, Saalfeld passed to Saxe-Weimar, in 1603 to Saxe-Altenburg and in 1673 to Saxe-Gotha. When Duke Albrecht of Saxe-Gotha chose Saalfeld as his residence in 1676, this house became his home until the castle in the north of the city was ready for occupancy three years later. From 1729 to 1735 the house was again the residence, then for Duke Christian Ernst of Saxe-Saalfeld.
Then the building housed the ducal mint, which had been moved from the former Franciscan monastery, for over 100 years until 1846. The name “Old Mint” comes from this time. At times up to 60 workers were employed here, minting up to 20,000 guilders per week. At the same time, the Saalfeld Mining Authority was housed here since the 18th century. Today the building is used by the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt District Savings Bank.
Text: Sturm, Erfurter Münzfreunde e.V.
