Frederick William — the "Great Elector" — came to power in 1640 inheriting a Brandenburg devastated by thirty years of war. These thalers were struck while the Thirty Years' War was still grinding to its conclusion, the Peace of Westphalia not signed until 1648. Coinage during this stretch was erratic; the mint at Königsberg operated under severe material constraints, and dies were often reused beyond their useful life.
The KM#220 series spans a five-year window precisely because production was intermittent rather than continuous.
Frederick William — the "Great Elector" — came to power in 1640 inheriting a Brandenburg devastated by thirty years of war. These thalers were struck while the Thirty Years' War was still grinding to its conclusion, the Peace of Westphalia not signed until 1648. Coinage during this stretch was erratic; the mint at Königsberg operated under severe material constraints, and dies were often reused beyond their useful life.
The KM#220 series spans a five-year window precisely because production was intermittent rather than continuous.