Alte Münze Schleiz

In 1647, the building with its baroque towers was first mentioned as the “Manorial Paint House”. At that time – from 1647 to 1848 – the Counts and later Princes Reuss of Schleiz resided in the castle. In 1678, they started minting their own coins in the house on Neumarkt. In order to make money, the old, full-value coins were taken out of circulation and exchanged; they were sent to the melting pot and the silver content was reduced. In 1681, the money minted in Schleiz had such a bad reputation that it was no longer accepted as a means of payment in the surrounding lordships. So, the mint was closed and the citizens had to exchange their money for coins minted elsewhere. This reduced the citizens’ savings, but the lordly coffers were restored. Traders and artisan families set up shop in the former mint. Today, the town information office is located here.

Text: Sturm, Münzfreunde Erfurt e.V.