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⅙ Thaler - William II
| Issuer | Hesse-Cassel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1821-1822 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Central device features the crowned oval arms of Hesse-Cassel, depicting a rampant lion facing left within a beaded oval cartouche, surmounted by a royal crown. The armorial shield is flanked on both sides by olive branches, their sprigs extending gracefully to form a wreath-like frame around the central device. The entire composition is set within a beaded border, with no peripheral legend on this face. The design is executed in a restrained neoclassical style characteristic of early nineteenth-century German state coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | WILHELM II KURFÜRST V. HESSEN |
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| Additional information |
Hesse-Cassel's coinage in the early 1820s was shaped directly by the monetary reforms sweeping the German states after the Napoleonic disruptions. The 1/6 Thaler denomination was a workhorse of everyday commerce in the region, and William II — Elector from 1821 — struck this type almost immediately upon succession, partly to assert electoral authority his father had spent decades complicating through erratic fiscal policy.
The .625 fineness places it firmly within the Convention Thaler system's lower-denomination fractions, which tolerated reduced silver content as a practical concession to circulation demands.