William V of Hesse-Cassel died in September 1637 having spent the final years of his reign in effective exile, driven from his own territory by Imperial forces during the Thirty Years' War. The landgraviate had been occupied since 1637, and William died at Laar having never recovered his lands. His widow, Amalie Elisabeth, would ultimately secure their restoration at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Memorial ducats of this type were struck in the immediate aftermath of his death. Schütz III#972 places this piece within a tightly documented sequence of Hessian memorial issues from this decade.
William V of Hesse-Cassel died in September 1637 having spent the final years of his reign in effective exile, driven from his own territory by Imperial forces during the Thirty Years' War. The landgraviate had been occupied since 1637, and William died at Laar having never recovered his lands. His widow, Amalie Elisabeth, would ultimately secure their restoration at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Memorial ducats of this type were struck in the immediate aftermath of his death. Schütz III#972 places this piece within a tightly documented sequence of Hessian memorial issues from this decade.