Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/4 Thaler - George Frederick I Death
| Issuer | Brandenburg-Franconia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1603 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7.22 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Half-length armored effigy of Georg Friedrich I facing right, depicted in elaborate ornate armor with richly decorated breastplate and ruff collar, his right hand resting near his chest. The portrait is rendered in high relief with fine detail characteristic of late Renaissance German medallic art. A circular Latin legend surrounds the bust reading the margrave's full titles. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | D G GEORG FRID MARCH BRAND DVX PRUSSIAE & C |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
George Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach died in 1603 without legitimate heirs, ending the Ansbach-Kulmbach line of the Hohenzollern dynasty and triggering the reversion of his territories to the Brandenburg electoral line under Elector Joachim Frederick. These death memorial coinages — Sterbemünzen — were a deeply embedded German princely custom, minted specifically to commemorate the passing of a ruler rather than to serve any transactional purpose. Many were distributed at funeral ceremonies and retained by recipients rather than spent, which partly explains why survivors often show minimal wear.
The reversion itself had been legally contested for years beforehand, with George Frederick having attempted to secure succession for his illegitimate son.