Bītnieka Klausa Kreihela tiesas process (1594)

ENDuring the second half of the sixteenth century, social stratification began to form among the craftsmen of Riga. It was promoted by regulation of economic activity and termination of the guild system. The non-guild craftsmen that were excluded from the free trade of goods, or the so-called Bönhasen started to take on a more important role in the everyday economic relations. The purpose of the article is to give an insight into the trial documents of Claus Kreychel, a goldsmith from Lübeck. The documents reveal the yet unknown side of Bönhasen, that is, counterfeiting of coins, the supply of materials, manufacture of coins and their dissemination in the market. The trial of Claus Kreychel permits to conclude that counterfeits in Riga were produced with the same methods as elsewhere in Europe.