Mainz fell under French Revolutionary control in October 1792, and the short-lived Mainzer Republik — the first republic on German soil — lasted barely six months before Prussian and Austrian forces besieged the city in the spring of 1793. The siege ran from April through July, cutting off supplies and collapsing normal commerce entirely. These copper pieces were struck under emergency authorization precisely because the blockade made conventional monetary resupply impossible.
The Gad#66 and Gad#66a distinction reflects a known variation in planchet preparation or die state documented by Gadoury; both are considered siege issues of equal standing. The city capitulated on July 23, 1793.
Mainz fell under French Revolutionary control in October 1792, and the short-lived Mainzer Republik — the first republic on German soil — lasted barely six months before Prussian and Austrian forces besieged the city in the spring of 1793. The siege ran from April through July, cutting off supplies and collapsing normal commerce entirely. These copper pieces were struck under emergency authorization precisely because the blockade made conventional monetary resupply impossible.
The Gad#66 and Gad#66a distinction reflects a known variation in planchet preparation or die state documented by Gadoury; both are considered siege issues of equal standing. The city capitulated on July 23, 1793.