1310-1357 AD., German States, Münster, Bishopric, Ludwig II of Hesse, Pfennig, Ilisch 25.

German States, Bishopric of Münster in Germany, Bishop Ludwig II of Hesse, 1310-1357 AD.,
Pfennig / Denar (ø 15 mm / 0,93 g), silver, axes about medal alignment ↑↑ (ca. 20°),
Obv.: [+ LODEVICVS EPISCOPV (or similar)] , Bishop enthroned facing, wearing Mitra, blessing with right hand and Bible in his left, on his chest four-leaf brooch - Bischof thront v. v. mit Mitra, segnender Rechten und Bibel in der erhobenen Linken, auf der Brust vierblättrige Fibel.
Rev.: [+ SANC.. PAVLVS APOS (or similar)] , nimbate head of St. Paul facing, sword in his right hand - Kopf des heiligen Paulus von vorn mit Nimbus und Schwert in seiner Rechten.
Ilisch XVI, 25 ; Grote 47a ; Bonhoff coll. 1658 .

The Bishopric of Münster was an ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, it was often held in personal union with one or more of the nearby ecclesiastical principalities of Cologne, Paderborn, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, and Liège.
Münster was bordered by the United Provinces to the west, by Cleves, Vest Recklinghausen, and Mark in the south, Paderborn and Osnabrück in the east. In the north and north-east it bordered East Frisia, Oldenburg and the Electorate of Hanover (est. 1692).
As with all the other prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it is important to distinguish between the Prince-Bishopric of Münster and the Diocese of Münster although both entities were ruled by the same individual. The dioceses were generally larger than the corresponding prince-bishoprics and in the parts that extended beyond the prince-bishopric, the prince-bishop's authority was strictly that of an ordinary bishop and limited to spiritual matters.

The Diocese of Münster was founded by Charlemagne towards the end of the Saxon War about 795, as a suffragan of Cologne.
The first bishop was Ludger, who, since the year 787, had been a zealous missionary in five Frisian "hundreds", or districts. The territory of the Diocese of Münster was bounded on the west, south, and north-west by the dioceses of Cologne and Utrecht, on the east and north-east by Osnabrück. The diocese also included districts remote from the bulk of its territory, namely, the five Frisian hundreds on the lower Ems (Hugmerki, Hunusgau, Fivelgau, Federitgau, and Emsgau).