2 Ducats - Louis VIII

Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt died in 1768, but his coinage appears throughout the mid-eighteenth century as the landgraviate navigated the financial pressures of the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763. Hesse supplied mercenary troops — Hessian soldiers were among the most commercially contracted in Europe — and gold issues from this period often reflect revenues derived directly from those subsidy treaties with larger powers, particularly Britain and France.

The Schütz reference places this among a tightly documented series. Fr#1219 alignment confirms standard Frankfurt-area die work for the period.