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12 Ducats - Maximilian Hall
| Issuer | Teutonic Order (German States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1614 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 41.76 g |
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| Obverse description | Full-length effigy of Maximilian III, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, depicted standing facing three-quarters left, clad in full plate armor surmounted by a mantle, with the cross of the Teutonic Order prominent on his torso and a helmet upon his head. He holds an upright sword in his right hand, while at his right a great helm and at his left a lion-supported shield bearing the arms of Austria are positioned flanking his feet, all elements dividing the inner beaded circle and the surrounding legend. The date 1614 appears in the exergue beneath the figure's feet. The composition is rendered in a formal, heraldic Renaissance style within a foliate inner border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | *MAX:DG:AR AV:D: B:MA .PRVSS:ADMI +1614+ |
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| Additional information |
The Teutonic Order's coinage authority by 1614 was largely ceremonial — the Knights had ceded their Prussian territories to the Hohenzollerns in 1618 and their political grip on the Baltic was long broken. Archduke Maximilian of Austria, elected Grand Master in 1590, used these massive multiple-ducat strikes less as currency than as diplomatic gifts and demonstration pieces, distributed at court to assert the Order's continued relevance among the Habsburg powers.
The Hall mint in Tyrol struck this piece, Habsburg infrastructure pressed into service for a fraternal order that no longer held sovereign territory in any meaningful sense.