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| Issuer | Hanau-Münzenberg, County of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1638 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Thaler |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | PHILIP.MAVR.COM.HAN.MVNTZ: |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a raised diamond-shaped (lozenge) cartouche formed by double incuse lines, within which the denomination and issuing authority are inscribed in five lines: DV. / CATVS. / COMITATVS. / HANO. / .M., reading as DUCATUS COMITATUS HANOVIAE MÜNZENBERG. The date 1638 is distributed across the four outer corner triangles of the lozenge, with the digits 1 and 6 in the upper left and upper right corners respectively, and 3 and 8 in the lower left and lower right corners. The plain field surrounding the cartouche is unadorned, consistent with the austere hammered coinage style of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Philip Moritz ruled Hanau-Münzenberg for only a few years before the county's absorption into Hanau-Lichtenberg, and this 1638 ducat was struck against the backdrop of the Thirty Years' War, which had been grinding through the Holy Roman Empire for two decades by this point. The Frankfurt region — where Hanau sat — was repeatedly occupied, taxed, and fought over by multiple armies, making the continued operation of a small county mint something of a logistical achievement in itself.
KM#62 is sparsely documented in most census records, reflecting the limited output typical of minor Rhenish county mints under wartime conditions.