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1/2 Kreuzer - Frederick William II
| Issuer | Prussia, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788-1797 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Thaler |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse features the elaborate interlaced royal cypher 'FW' (for Friedrich Wilhelm) rendered in flowing script, occupying the majority of the field. A detailed Prussian royal crown surmounts the monogram, decorated with pearled arches and a cross finial. The design is unencumbered by any surrounding legend, allowing the crowned cipher to dominate the plain copper field. The rim is plain and unadorned, consistent with the utilitarian character of this Silesian provincial coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | FW |
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| Additional information |
Frederick William II inherited Prussian finances badly strained by Frederick the Great's wars, and the small copper issues of his reign were minted largely to address chronic shortages of petty coinage in the western Hohenzollern territories — particularly the Franconian enclaves far removed from Berlin's administrative center. The half kreuzer denomination was essentially a concession to local commercial habit in regions accustomed to south German reckoning rather than the thaler-groschen system dominant in Brandenburg-Prussia proper.
The span of references — Schön, Olding, Neum, Schr — reflects genuine regional complexity in attribution, with multiple issuing mints producing recognizably distinct varieties across the decade.