1 Thaler - Frederick William

Frederick William — the "Great Elector" — issued this thaler during the final stretch of the Franco-Dutch War, a conflict in which Brandenburg-Prussia punched well above its weight. His decisive victory over the Swedes at Fehrbellin in 1675 had already reshaped northern European power dynamics, and the war's conclusion at the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1679 forced him to return his Swedish territorial gains under French pressure — a bitter diplomatic reversal after a genuine military triumph.

KM#473.2 distinguishes this emission from the closely related .1 variety by die differences documented in the Schöttle reference.