Before the Reformation, the reverse of the large silver coins of the city of Basle depicted a Madonna. After the Reformation at the end of the 1520s, however, she was replaced by an imperial eagle. By the end of the 17th century Basle followed the example of Zurich and some other German cities, and started to put the skyline of the city itself on its talers. These Basle city views, works of the die sinker Justin de Beyer, are among the masterpieces of European engravings of that time.