Medal for repairs to Ulm Minster
Christian Schnitzspahn (1829-77)
Category
Coins and medals
Date
1923
Materials
Gilded copper
Measurements
415 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Stuttgart
Order this imageCollection
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
NT 517315
Summary
Gilded copper, Medal for repairs to Ulm Minster, designed by Christian Schnitzspahn (1829-77) and Karl Schwenzer (1843-1904), struck and gilded Stuttgart, Germany, 1923. A medal in gilded copper, minted in 1923 as part of a caompaign to raise funds for urgent repairs to Ulm Minster. On the obverse, a view of Ulm Munster, by showing it before the completion of the main tower. At bottom, signature of the designer, Christian Schnitzspahn (1829-77). The reverse has a lateral view of the Minster, by Karl Schwenzer (1843-1904) and the added inscription ‘minted in a time of need, 1923/ from copper from the roof of the Minster.’
Full description
The Minster (Münster) in Ulm is one of the great Gothic churches of Europe, serving as a Lutheran church from the time of the introduction of Protestantism in Ulm in 1530-31. Begun in the late 14th century, the Minster was not completed until the late nineteenth century. It is currently still the tallest church building in the world, with a tower measuring 161.5 metres (530 ft.). The medal was struck in 1923, at a time when the Minster again found itself needing desperately to raise funds for urgent repairs. During the winter of 1922-23 severe storms had caused serious damage to the copper-sheeted roof of the church, and it was necessary to cover the holes in the roof, at the least with ordinary roof tiles. However, this was a year when Germany was ravaged with economic problems in the aftermath of the First World War, and the hyperinflation that was to wreck its economy in the 1920s had begun. The Minster authorities therefore decided to use the dislodged copper sheet tiles from the roof for an edition of medals to raise funds for the repairs. Medals were struck at the state mint in Stuttgart, re-using dies from earlier medal editions for the Minster, a double thaler of 1869 (Nau 1964, no. 251; Ulmer 1987, pp. 34-35) designed by the Darmstadt sculptor Christian Schnitzspahn) and a medal of 1890 by the Stuttgart sculptor Karl Schwenzer (Nau 1964, no. 262; Ulmer 1987, p. 47). The only addition is the inscription on the reverse ‘minted in a time of need, 1923/from copper from the roof of the Minster’. The Minster authorities issued an advertisement for the edition: "Das Münster zu Ulm in Schwaben. Höchster Dom der Erde - Grundsteinlegung 1377. Dem Ulmer Münster droht der Verfall. In der Not sind aus Dachkupfer des Münsters die alten Münster-Taler vom staatlichen Münzamt neu geprägt worden." [The MInster of Ulm in Swabia. The tallest cathedral in the world – foundation stone laid in 1377. The Ulm Minster is threatened with collapse. At a time of need the old Minster-Thalers have been restruck in the State Mint using copper from the roof of the Minster.]. The edition was available in three finishes: plain copper, silvered copper and gilded copper. Because of the galloping hyperinflation in Germany, these three options were priced in US dollars (one dollar, one dollar fifty cents and two dollars respectively) or the equivalent in another foreign currency. According to the paper envelopes produced to contain the medals, 5,000 medals were minted for the edition. Jeremy Warren 2019
Provenance
Acquired by Huttleston Rogers Broughton, 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966) presumably c. 1923; bequeathed to the National Trust by Lord Fairhaven with the house and the rest of the contents.
Credit line
Anglesey Abbey, The Fairhaven Collection (The National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Obverse, legend: ZUR ERINNERUNG AN D. WIEDERHERSTELLUNG/D. MÜNSTERS IN ULM 1869 [In memory of the restoration of the Minster of Ulm, 1869]. Obverse, at bottom: C. SCHNITZSPAHN F. Reverse, legend: ZUR FEIER DER VOLLENDUNG DES HAUPTTURMES AM MÜNSTER IN ULM 1890 [To celebrate the completion of the main tower of the Minster in Ulm, 1890] Reverse, inscription in field: IN DER NOT/GEPRÄGT/1923/AUS DACHKUPFER/D. MÜNSTERS [minted in a time of need, 1923/ from copper from the roof of the Minster].
Makers and roles
Christian Schnitzspahn (1829-77) , medallist Karl Schwenzer (1843-1904), medallist
References
Nau 1964: E. Nau, Die Münzen und Medaillen der Oberschwäbischen Städte. Freiburg im Breisgau 1964, p. 89, no. 285. Ulmer 1987: Manfred Ulmer, Ulmer Ereignisses und Personen im Spiegel von Medaillen, Ulm 1987