1/2 Thaler Bicentenary of the Reformation

Hamburg struck this piece to mark the 200th anniversary of Luther's 1517 Ninety-Five Theses — an event the city's Lutheran establishment treated as a civic triumph as much as a religious one. Hamburg had formally adopted Lutheranism in 1529 and fiercely maintained confessional independence through two centuries of Catholic imperial pressure. By 1717, the centenary jubilee tradition was already well established in Protestant Germany, and commemorative issues from multiple cities appeared that year, making Hamburg's contribution one of several competing civic statements rather than a singular act.

Gaedechens 1751 distinguishes this half thaler from the full thaler issue of the same event, both produced in modest quantities for presentation and ceremonial distribution.