1 Thaler - Christoph

Christoph von Qualen served as Bishop of Ratzeburg from 1576 until his death in 1585, presiding over a see that had been effectively Lutheran in practice since the mid-sixteenth century despite retaining its Catholic administrative structure — a quiet contradiction typical of the post-Reformation north German ecclesiastical territories. The Bishopric's coinage output was sparse, making issues from his episcopate genuinely scarce rather than artificially so.

Davenport's attribution GT I#9676 places this squarely within the broader north German taler series of the period, but Ratzeburg's small size and limited mint activity kept production volumes low.