Leopold V ruled Upper Alsace as Archduke from 1619 until his death in 1632, a tenure almost entirely consumed by the Thirty Years' War raging around him. The thalers struck across these years served a grimly practical purpose: paying troops. Habsburg commanders in the region were in near-constant need of coined silver to maintain their garrisons along the Rhine frontier, and the Upper Alsace mint at Ensisheim obliged with sustained output through the late 1620s.
The KLEM reference range of 231–260 reflects meaningful die variation across the issue years, and collectors working the series typically encounter significant differences in die alignment and legend spacing between specimens.
Leopold V ruled Upper Alsace as Archduke from 1619 until his death in 1632, a tenure almost entirely consumed by the Thirty Years' War raging around him. The thalers struck across these years served a grimly practical purpose: paying troops. Habsburg commanders in the region were in near-constant need of coined silver to maintain their garrisons along the Rhine frontier, and the Upper Alsace mint at Ensisheim obliged with sustained output through the late 1620s.
The KLEM reference range of 231–260 reflects meaningful die variation across the issue years, and collectors working the series typically encounter significant differences in die alignment and legend spacing between specimens.