2 Thalers

Emden's double thaler issues of the 1670s were struck during a period of acute political stress for the city. Long contested between the County of East Frisia and various external powers, Emden had maintained an unusually assertive independence for a relatively small port — a posture its civic coinage was meant to reinforce. The 1674 date falls shortly after the city had weathered pressure from Brandenburg, which had been asserting influence over East Frisia following the Treaty of Westphalia.

Large-flan pieces of this type are notorious for uneven planchet preparation, and surface flow lines from inadequate blank annealing are frequently encountered on genuine examples.