1/2 Thaler

Bremen struck this half thaler in 1499 under the authority of the city's independent mint, which operated with considerable autonomy as the Hanseatic port consolidated its commercial dominance over North Sea trade routes. The late fifteenth century was a particularly tense period for Bremen's monetary affairs — the city was actively negotiating its status within the Holy Roman Empire while simultaneously defending its mint rights against encroachment from the Archbishop of Bremen, a jurisdictional conflict that had simmered for decades.

At this date, the thaler denomination was only just emerging as a standardized unit across German-speaking lands, making this half-thaler an early participant in that transition.