Frederick William I of Prussia acquired Gelderland's Upper Quarter — the so-called Overkwartier — through the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, a territorial settlement that handed Prussia a geographically awkward sliver of the lower Rhine far removed from the Brandenburg heartland. Coinage for this exclave was struck at the Kleve mint under tight Prussian supervision, yet the fractional thaler series maintained older Geldern denominational conventions rather than conforming to Brandenburg-Prussian monetary norms.
The .563 fineness is notably low for a thaler fraction of this period, reflecting longstanding Rhine regional silver standards rather than any Prussian preference.
Frederick William I of Prussia acquired Gelderland's Upper Quarter — the so-called Overkwartier — through the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, a territorial settlement that handed Prussia a geographically awkward sliver of the lower Rhine far removed from the Brandenburg heartland. Coinage for this exclave was struck at the Kleve mint under tight Prussian supervision, yet the fractional thaler series maintained older Geldern denominational conventions rather than conforming to Brandenburg-Prussian monetary norms.
The .563 fineness is notably low for a thaler fraction of this period, reflecting longstanding Rhine regional silver standards rather than any Prussian preference.