| This copper coin is not actually a coin. It is a token, called a Jeton, used during the Thirteenth through Seventeenth Centuries as a gaming piece, similar to how a poker chip would be used in a modern-day gambling casino. The name Jeton was derived from the French word jeter, meaning "to cast" or "to throw". The Jeton exhibited here dates from the latter part of the Sixteenth Century (late-1500s), and matches the style produced by Wolf Laufer. It is considered to be of the "Rechenmeister type" produced at Nuremberg, Germany. The name Rechenmeister refers to an abacus-reckoner, or money-changer. The obverse features the image of a money-changer at his table, surrounded by the legend: RECHIN MEISTER. The reverse consists of the letters of the alphabet ("I" and "J" and "U" and "V" combined) arranged in five rows of 4, 6, 5, 5 and 4 letters within the shape of a circular rim. (In some examples, the alphabet is arranged inside a square frame.) The alphabet is surrounded by the legend: R . WYLF . LAFER. IN . NVRMBERG. |
