Osnabrück in 1637 was occupied territory — Swedish forces had held the city since 1633, and the bishopric's administration was badly disrupted. Francis William of Wartenberg, a Catholic prince-bishop, spent much of his tenure attempting to govern from outside his own see. That this thaler was struck at all during such conditions reflects the political necessity of maintaining the outward forms of sovereign coinage even when actual control of the territory was contested.
The Peace of Osnabrück, signed eleven years later as one half of the Westphalian settlement, would resolve the very conflict that shadowed this issue's production.
Osnabrück in 1637 was occupied territory — Swedish forces had held the city since 1633, and the bishopric's administration was badly disrupted. Francis William of Wartenberg, a Catholic prince-bishop, spent much of his tenure attempting to govern from outside his own see. That this thaler was struck at all during such conditions reflects the political necessity of maintaining the outward forms of sovereign coinage even when actual control of the territory was contested.
The Peace of Osnabrück, signed eleven years later as one half of the Westphalian settlement, would resolve the very conflict that shadowed this issue's production.