Nuremberg's half thalers of this period were struck during the long recovery from the Thirty Years' War, which had devastated the city's trade networks and depleted its treasury. The war ended in 1648 at the Peace of Westphalia — negotiated partly in Nuremberg itself — but the economic damage persisted well into the 1660s and beyond. The city mint was under pressure to maintain credible silver coinage as commerce slowly rebuilt across the imperial road system that made Nuremberg its hub.
The Kellner and Erlanger collection references suggest this type was well represented in major German private holdings, which is consistent with production spanning nearly two decades.
Nuremberg's half thalers of this period were struck during the long recovery from the Thirty Years' War, which had devastated the city's trade networks and depleted its treasury. The war ended in 1648 at the Peace of Westphalia — negotiated partly in Nuremberg itself — but the economic damage persisted well into the 1660s and beyond. The city mint was under pressure to maintain credible silver coinage as commerce slowly rebuilt across the imperial road system that made Nuremberg its hub.
The Kellner and Erlanger collection references suggest this type was well represented in major German private holdings, which is consistent with production spanning nearly two decades.