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20 Kreuzers - Frederick August
| Issuer | Nassau, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1809 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Kreuzers (5⁄36) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed bust of Friedrich August, Duke of Nassau, facing right, with naturalistically rendered hair falling to the nape of the neck. The truncation is plain, with the mintmaster's initial 'L' visible below. The encircling legend reads FRIEDRICH AUGUST HERZOG ZU NASSAU, in raised Latin lettering, terminating with a period. The portrait is rendered in a neoclassical style with fine detail in the facial features and drapery of the shoulder. The coin has a milled edge border visible at the rim. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Nassau's elevation to a Duchy in 1806 — a direct consequence of Napoleon's reorganization of German territories through the Confederation of the Rhine — created immediate pressure to issue coinage befitting the new rank. Frederick August, who had governed as Prince since 1803, found himself ruling a substantially enlarged state stitched together from multiple Nassau lines and absorbed territories, none of which shared a common monetary tradition. The 1809 issues were among the first attempts to impose numismatic coherence on this patchwork.
The .583 fineness reflects the degraded silver standard common across Napoleonic-era German satellite states, where bullion constraints and French monetary pressure consistently pushed silver content below the old Reich conventions.