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8 Schilling
| Issuer | Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1797 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts the Hamburg city gate (the Hammaburg), rendered in fine relief as a fortified three-towered structure with a central arched portal and flanking turrets surmounted by domed cupolas. The numeral '8' appears prominently in the upper field, flanked by two rosette ornaments. The circular legend reads HAMBURGER COURANT SCHILLING, distributed around the periphery, while the mintmaster's initials O.H.K. are inscribed below the gate in the lower field. The overall design is crisp and neoclassical in character, consistent with late 18th-century German minting standards. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central device features a double-headed Imperial eagle displayed, each head turned outward, surmounted by a single Imperial crown. The eagle's talons grasp a sceptre to the left and a sword to the right, with a small oval escutcheon on the breast. The date 1797 is inscribed in the lower field beneath the eagle. The surrounding circular legend, reading FRANCISCUS II D. G. ROM. IMP. SEMPER AUGUSTUS, honors Emperor Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and runs continuously around the periphery in well-spaced Latin capitals. |
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| Additional information |
Hamburg's schilling coinage of the late 18th century was issued under the city's own monetary authority, independent of the broader Holy Roman Empire's collapsing framework — a financial autonomy the Hanseatic trading cities had defended for centuries through commercial negotiation rather than military force. By 1797, the Empire itself had less than a decade left, though Hamburg's mint continued operating on its own terms well past dissolution.
The .625 fineness places this below the Reichsthaler standard, consistent with Hamburg's subsidiary silver coinage intended for local and regional commerce rather than long-distance mercantile settlement, which used heavier, finer specie.