Baden's 1844 kreuzer circulated in copper; this silver piece at nearly five times the production weight was never intended for commerce. Pattern strikes of this type were produced for presentation purposes — distributed to dignitaries, submitted to the court, or retained by mint officials — and surviving examples almost never re-entered any form of trade.
The piece dates to the tenure of Grand Duke Leopold I, whose long reign saw Baden navigate the fractious politics of the German Confederation. The monument referenced in this issue was erected in Karlsruhe to Charles Frederick, Leopold's grandfather and the ruler who consolidated the margravates into a unified Baden in 1771.
Baden's 1844 kreuzer circulated in copper; this silver piece at nearly five times the production weight was never intended for commerce. Pattern strikes of this type were produced for presentation purposes — distributed to dignitaries, submitted to the court, or retained by mint officials — and surviving examples almost never re-entered any form of trade.
The piece dates to the tenure of Grand Duke Leopold I, whose long reign saw Baden navigate the fractious politics of the German Confederation. The monument referenced in this issue was erected in Karlsruhe to Charles Frederick, Leopold's grandfather and the ruler who consolidated the margravates into a unified Baden in 1771.