1⁄12 Thaler - Frederick William

Frederick William, the "Great Elector," issued this coin during the period following the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1679 — the same treaty that forced him to return his Swedish territorial gains from the Battle of Fehrbellin despite having won the military campaign outright. French diplomatic pressure on behalf of Sweden compelled the concession, a humiliation that redirected Brandenburg-Prussian ambitions inward toward administrative and financial consolidation. Small silver fractions like this were central to that domestic economic program.