AHLEN
Ahlen,
as a town, was first mentioned around the year 850 in the Vita Liudgeri II.
The reasoning behind the name Ahlen, which literally means "eels",
is unexplained. The decorated eel in the coat of arms is a canting representation
of the town's name, a common German heraldic practice. The origin of the settlement
is possibly due to a crossing over the river Werse, which was also the crossing
of two important roads (Hamm–Ahlen–Warendorf and Beckum–Ahlen–Herbern)
and the origin of a third road (Ahlen–Münster). In its early centuries,
the slow-growing settlement was built around an episcopal court. Within the
safe haven of this church fortification, the first settlers were craftsmen and
merchants who traded with the local farmers and peasants of the court. Long-distance
trading started in the second half of the 12th century - proof being the names
of Ahlen merchants found on invoices from merchants in Lübeck. Ahlen was
also part of the north German Hanse. During this time a town wall with five
towers was built (circa 1271). The removal of the town wall had begun in 1765
and the last remnant had vanished by 1929.
It seems that the town grew very fast in the 13th century.
In approximately the year 1285, the population was so high that a new church
(St. Marien) was founded next to the old one (St. Bartholomäus). This development
leads to the conclusion that Ahlen was one of the 18 largest towns in Westphalia
at the time. However, the growth of the town stopped in the 14th century due
the Black Death. In the citizen book of 1389 only 63 families were left. In
1454 a citizen list again contained 212 families. Based on this number of families
a calculated population estimate of 1300 citizens would be realistic. At this
point the town had four quarters which were named after their respective town
gates; all four quarters were about the same size. Each town quarter was responsible
for the defense of its part of the town wall and gate. In 1454, seven noble
families and their attendants lived in the episcopal court.
During the 16th century, there were three plague epidemics
in 1505, 1551 and 1592 - leprosy also killed many people. In the year 1571,
the mayor and the council decided to build a special hospital for leprosy. Disastrous
fires in 1483, 1668 and 1744 were responsible for halting further growth of
the town. About 20 documents of witch trials during the time from 1574 until
1652 survived. The hunt for witches started in 1574 with the death of four women.
Peter Kleikamp was charged with being a werewolf; he was tortured and burned
alive on the pyre. 1616 Christian zum Loe was charged with wizardry; he went
insane and died while in jail. The last known case was in 1652 against Anna
Sadelers; she was tortured, burned alive on the pyre and beheaded.
Numismatically, Ahlen's output was extremely limited and pieces
surviving today are very rare. Copper coins were issued in 1584, 1610, and 1616
in various small denominations, and that was all. In years of watching the bigger
auctions, I have only seen pieces up for sale a few times. During the same period
many Westphalian towns minted coins, include Beckum, Haltern, Warendorf, and
Werne among others.
KEY IDENTIFICATION NOTES: Ahlen's eel is charming and unique on German coins,
STADT ALEN appears and is the only legend along with the date.
6 Pfennig - Yes, it is a terrible example, but even this piece is probably
one of fewer than 1,000 left in collectors' hands from Ahlen. In even poor condition
it would sell for $50+
