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1 Solidus - George William counterfeit
| Issuer | Duchy of Prussia (Brandenburg-Prussia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1619-1640 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Copper |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crowned Prussian eagle displayed in the central field, with the letter 'S' on its breast, imitating the eagle type of the genuine solidus coinage of George William, Elector of Brandenburg. The surrounding Latin legend, partially legible due to the crude striking characteristic of contemporary counterfeits, reads GEORG.WILH.MAR.BR.S.R.I.EL. The die work is notably irregular, with letters and design elements weakly defined and unevenly distributed, consistent with illicitly produced copper imitations struck from crudely engraved dies. The overall fabric is thin and the flan irregular, betraying the counterfeit nature of the piece. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | SOLIDVS.PRVSSIAE |
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| Additional information |
George William's reign coincided with the Thirty Years' War, which gutted the coinage system of the German states. Genuine solidi of this period were already debased; counterfeit copper pieces circulated freely because the distinction between official and unofficial small change had effectively collapsed in the chaos of wartime currency debasement. KM#113 designates these pieces specifically as contemporary counterfeits — struck in copper rather than billon, underweight against even the degraded official standard.