The monetary history of Germany is one of extreme confusion and intricacy. The lack of coercive power in the central authority--in the Emperor himself--was as conspicuously displayed in the monetary ordinances of the empire as in the political sphere. The imperial edicts were disregarded, and each separate circle of the empire, or each separate prince or union of princes, left to shift or act for themselves. Amid all the confusion of such a disorganised and reeling system sufficient is perceptible to indicate the broad tendency of events, and to show how closely analogous was her experience to that of Europe generally within the same period. In Germany, as in the Netherlands, France, and England, the influence of the discovery of America only begins to express itself about 1520, and in the usual way--influx, movements and disorders in the currency and ratio, and general complaints. In 1520 a monetary convention was summoned to meet at Forchheim. This was followed by the debate in the Reichstag at Nürnberg (1522), where great complaints were made of the unusable, false, and depreciated coinage, "due to the stealing away and exchanging abroad of the gold _gulden_ and silver coins." It was in consequence of the representations of this Reichstag that the first of the series of three imperial Mint ordinances was issued by Charles V. (at Esslingen, 1524). The main details of this ordinance will be found in the accompanying tables and in Appendix V. The effect of the first imperial ordinance was to change the ratio from something between 10 and 11 to 11.38. The _gulden_ was raised from 17s. 4 pf. to 17s. 6 pf. All foreign gold was to be taken at equivalent rates, and whoever gave more for foreign coins of gold was to suffer a heavy penalty. Further, the export of gold and silver was forbidden, on pain of life and goods. The ordinance remained a dead letter, and the monetary disorder of the country only increased. THE MOVEMENT OF SILVER IN GERMANY, 1459-1621, ILLUSTRATED BY THE MOVEMENT OF THE SILVER GROSCHEN, ACCORDING TO IMPERIAL AND OTHER MINT REGULATIONS. (_See preceding Table on p. 30._)