Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Thaler - Jacob Kettler Mitau, large shields
| Issuer | Duchy of Courland and Semigallia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1644-1645 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Draped bust of Duke Jacob Kettler facing right, rendered in high relief, with long flowing hair falling to the shoulders and an elaborately embroidered lace collar and cuirass visible at the truncation. The portrait occupies the majority of the inner field and is executed in a naturalistic Baroque style. A circular legend in Latin characters runs within the beaded border surrounding the effigy. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Jacob Kettler ruled Courland as a vassal duke under Polish-Lithuanian suzerainty, yet built one of the most commercially aggressive small states in northern Europe — operating his own merchant fleet, founding colonies in Tobago and on the Gambia River, and running ducal ironworks and shipyards that made Courland punch well above its weight. These thalers were struck at Mitau during the brief window before the Swedish invasion of 1645 disrupted Courland's administration and briefly forced Jacob into a constrained political position relative to Stockholm.
The "large shields" designation distinguishes this die variety from companion issues of the same years, a distinction that matters to specialists working the Davenport EC II series.