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2 Thalers - Christian William of Brandenburg
| Issuer | Archbishopric of Magdeburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1625 |
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| Value | 2 Thalers |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Draped armored bust of Christian William of Brandenburg facing right, wearing a ruff collar and elaborately decorated cuirass, rendered in high relief in the Baroque manner. The portrait fills the central field, conveying authority and dynastic prestige characteristic of early seventeenth-century German coinage. A finely beaded inner circle separates the bust from the surrounding peripheral legend. The Latin legend reads continuously around the circumference, identifying the sitter as Christian Wilhelm, by the Grace of God postulated administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. The coin's broad flan and bold portraiture are hallmarks of the large-format double thaler format produced at the Magdeburg Mint during the Thirty Years' War period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | CHRIS WILH D GR POSTVL ADM ARCH MAGD (Translation: Christian Wilhelm, by the Grace of God, Postulated administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg) |
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| Additional information |
Christian William of Brandenburg-Ansbach held the Archbishopric of Magdeburg as an administrator — he was Lutheran, and therefore canonically ineligible for the office proper. His tenure became a direct flashpoint in the early Thirty Years' War: his attempts to retain control of the see against Habsburg pressure led to his deposition by the Imperial Chamber Court in 1625, the very year this coin was struck. He later allied with Denmark during Christian IV's intervention, was captured at the Battle of Lutter in 1626, and Magdeburg itself was catastrophically sacked by Imperial forces in 1631.