Magdeburg's thalers of this period were struck under existential pressure. The city held out as a Protestant stronghold during the Thirty Years' War until May 1631, when Imperial and Catholic League forces under Tilly sacked it in one of the war's most catastrophic events — killing upwards of 20,000 civilians and burning the city nearly to the ground. Coins issued in the years immediately preceding the sack represent the final output of a functioning civic mint that would soon cease to exist entirely.
The Schrötter variety designation here suggests minor die differences from the principal type, likely reflecting the rushed, high-volume output demanded by a city financing its own defense.
Magdeburg's thalers of this period were struck under existential pressure. The city held out as a Protestant stronghold during the Thirty Years' War until May 1631, when Imperial and Catholic League forces under Tilly sacked it in one of the war's most catastrophic events — killing upwards of 20,000 civilians and burning the city nearly to the ground. Coins issued in the years immediately preceding the sack represent the final output of a functioning civic mint that would soon cease to exist entirely.
The Schrötter variety designation here suggests minor die differences from the principal type, likely reflecting the rushed, high-volume output demanded by a city financing its own defense.