1 Thaler - Simon August 40th Birthday

Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold, ruled one of the smallest territories in the Holy Roman Empire — a county of roughly 50,000 subjects — yet maintained a court culture that included the commissioning of commemorative thalers for personal milestones. This piece marks his 40th birthday on October 7, 1767. Such birthday thalers were a distinctly German princely habit, and for minor counts they often served as much to demonstrate dynastic legitimacy to peers as to circulate within their tiny domains.

The Ihl reference catalogues multiple die combinations for this issue; the A/a designation indicates the primary obverse paired with the primary reverse, suggesting at least one additional pairing exists.