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| Issuer | Frankfurt, Free imperial city of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838-1841 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Gulden |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | FREIE STADT FRANKFURT |
| Reverse description | The denomination 1/2 GULDEN displayed in three lines at center, with the date below, all enclosed within a wreath of oak branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The oak leaves and acorns are rendered in fine relief, their tips meeting at the top of the wreath. The composition is set against a plain field within a beaded border. |
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| Additional information |
Frankfurt's half gulden of this period was struck under the monetary framework established by the 1838 Dresden Convention, which created the South German gulden standard and obligated member states — including the Free City — to align their coinage with a common weight and fineness. For a city-state whose commercial identity depended on being acceptable currency across the German confederation, conformity was not a bureaucratic exercise but a practical necessity.
The Free City lost its independent status entirely in 1866 when Prussia annexed it following the Austro-Prussian War, ending centuries of municipal coin production at a stroke.