½ Thaler - Frederick William

Frederick William — the future "Great Elector" — was still consolidating authority over Brandenburg-Prussia during these years, navigating the final chaotic phase of the Thirty Years' War while simultaneously fending off Swedish territorial ambitions in Pomerania. The electoral mint was under considerable pressure: war had disrupted silver supply chains from Silesia, and output was irregular across the issue's four-year span. KM#211 pieces struck in 1643 and those from 1646–47 show measurable die differences that specialists attribute to at least two distinct working periods.