In medieval and Renaissance Germany, the Münzwardein (also Wardein or Guardein, from the Latin word guardianus for guardian, protector) was the title of an official whose duties included supervising the Münzmeister

Münzmeister

In medieval and early modern Germany, the Münzmeister was the director or administrator of a mint, a moneyer with responsibility for the minting of coins, or specie. His duties were defined differently at different locations and ages.-Middle ages:The need for currency was relatively low during...

 and the stock of precious metals used in minting

Mint (coin)

A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...

. He was responsible for the quality of alloy

Alloy

An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

s and the accuracy of weights and measures.

The Münzwardein was commissioned by the highest authority (generally a prince

Fürst

Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...

 or a bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

). He was therefore the official representative of his principal in discharging his duty as an inspector of precious metal

Precious metal

A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic value.Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high lustre, are softer or more ductile, and have higher melting points than other metals...

s and precious metal goods in trade. It was his duty to produce weights used in minting and often he would also be charged with the safekeeping of minting irons when they were not used in producing specie

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

.

The occupational name came from the French word gardien (= supervisor). Via the Northern French wardien and the Dutch wardijn the word entered the German language and replaced the previously used words Probierer (= tester), Hüter (= safekeeper) and Aufzieher (= puller). The first Wardein to be so called worked in mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

. They were chemist

Chemist

A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...

s working in mines and smelting

Smelting

Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...

 facilities, where they were called on for their know-how in metallurgy

Metallurgy

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

. Frequently they doubled as goldsmiths and were required to separate auriferous silver from base metal.