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1/8 Thaler - Frederick II
| Issuer | Hesse-Cassel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1766-1769 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4.9 g |
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| Obverse description | The Hessian lion rampant, facing left, is depicted within an elaborate rococo cartouche of scrollwork and foliage. A royal crown surmounts the frame at the top of the design. The circular legend surrounding the central device reads the fineness standard, indicating the coin's silver content relative to the Cologne Mark. The entire composition is rendered in the ornate late Baroque style characteristic of mid-18th century German coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a six-line central inscription occupying the entire field, stating the denomination as one-eighth of a Reichsthaler, the date of issue, and the initials of the mint master. The legend identifies the coin as an officially assayed issue of the Hessian Landgraviate. The inscription is framed by decorative stops and the mintmaster's initials F.U. appear alongside the certification of the Fürstlich Hessian Landmünze. |
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| Additional information |
Frederick II of Hesse-Cassel is best remembered not for his coinage but for leasing approximately 19,000 Hessian troops to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War — a transaction that made him extraordinarily wealthy but cost him considerable popular legitimacy. The subsidy payments from Britain flowed directly into his treasury throughout the late 1760s and 1770s, funding ambitious building projects and a art collection that would eventually form the nucleus of the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel.
This fractional issue falls at the opening of that arrangement's negotiation period, minted while Frederick was simultaneously converting Hesse-Cassel to Catholicism in 1754 — a move deeply unpopular with his Lutheran subjects.