Leopold I's Thalers of this period were struck amid the aftermath of the Great Turkish War, which had consumed Habsburg finances for nearly two decades. The Treaty of Karlowitz wouldn't come until 1699, meaning the earliest coins of this issue were produced while the empire was still technically at war with the Ottomans. Vienna's mint ramped up silver coinage in part to pay the enormous costs of Raimondo Montecuccoli's and then Charles of Lorraine's campaigns.
The Her#596-598 span reflects minor die variations documented by Herinek across the four-year run. Dav EC II#3230 places this firmly within the standard Habsburg Thaler sequence, though collector interest tends to cluster on date-specific examples from 1699 — the peace year.
Leopold I's Thalers of this period were struck amid the aftermath of the Great Turkish War, which had consumed Habsburg finances for nearly two decades. The Treaty of Karlowitz wouldn't come until 1699, meaning the earliest coins of this issue were produced while the empire was still technically at war with the Ottomans. Vienna's mint ramped up silver coinage in part to pay the enormous costs of Raimondo Montecuccoli's and then Charles of Lorraine's campaigns.
The Her#596-598 span reflects minor die variations documented by Herinek across the four-year run. Dav EC II#3230 places this firmly within the standard Habsburg Thaler sequence, though collector interest tends to cluster on date-specific examples from 1699 — the peace year.