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⅙ Thaler - Frederick II
| Issuer | Prussia, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1750-1755 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Armored bust of Frederick II (Frederick the Great) facing right, wearing a cuirass with elaborate drapery and a flowing wig with curled locks. The effigy is rendered in high relief in the Baroque military portrait tradition. The circumferential Latin legend reads FREDERICUS BORUSSORUM REX, with a small decorative star at the base of the bust serving as a separator. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Frederick II financed the Seven Years' War partly through deliberate currency debasement — the infamous "Ephraimiten" policy, named for his mint contractor Veitel Heine Ephraim, who systematically reduced silver content in Prussian coinage from 1757 onward. The ⅙ Thaler issues dated 1750–1755 predate that debasement, struck to the Prussian 14-Thaler Fuß standard while the royal treasury still had the means to maintain it. The sheer spread of Schrötter references (252–295) reflects production across multiple mints and die marriages — Aurich, Königsberg, Magdeburg, and Berlin all contributed — a distribution of striking authority that Frederick expanded aggressively to meet military spending demands.