2 Thalers - John William II

John William II inherited Jülich-Berg in 1679 under the regency of his father's advisors, and the duchy's mint at Düsseldorf issued large multiples like this double thaler partly as prestige pieces — circulating less as currency than as diplomatic gifts and court presentation objects. The 1682 date places this squarely in the period before John William's later fame as an art patron and before the War of Spanish Succession scrambled the Rhineland's political geography entirely.

Davenport's attribution under ST#6869 reflects the Rhenish double thaler tradition, struck to the standard of the 1566 Imperial Recess.