Frankfurt struck this coin in the final months of its existence as an independent city-state. In July 1866, Prussian forces occupied Frankfurt following the city's support for Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, and by September the Free Imperial City — which had governed itself in various forms since the medieval period — was formally annexed and dissolved into Prussia. Any coins struck after the occupation began carry an almost accidental quality: a sovereign mint operating under military occupation, producing currency for a polity that had already effectively ceased to exist.
Frankfurt struck this coin in the final months of its existence as an independent city-state. In July 1866, Prussian forces occupied Frankfurt following the city's support for Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, and by September the Free Imperial City — which had governed itself in various forms since the medieval period — was formally annexed and dissolved into Prussia. Any coins struck after the occupation began carry an almost accidental quality: a sovereign mint operating under military occupation, producing currency for a polity that had already effectively ceased to exist.