1 Thaler - Charles I Weißer Schwan - Ausbeute

The "Weißer Schwan" (White Swan) thaler was struck as an Ausbeute coin — a presentation piece made directly from silver ore extracted at a specific mine, in this case the Weißer Schwan shaft in the Harz mining district. Ausbeute issues were not minted for general circulation but presented to the ruling prince and distributed as gifts to shareholders and mine officials, functioning as proof of a productive strike. Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was an active patron of the Harz mines, and these pieces survive today almost exclusively in collector-grade condition precisely because they were never meant to pass through hands as currency.