The wide thaler on the occasion of a ceremonial funeral of Prince Boguslaw XIV

The coin was minted in Szczecin to order for the new rulers of West Pomerania - Queen Christina of Sweden and Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg. The heirless death of Duke Bogislaw XIV (1637) during the Thirty Years' War made it impossible to bury the last ruler of the Griffin dynasty with dignity. At a convention in Szczecin in 1653, the successors of Pomerania undertook to give the Duke a ceremonial burial. On this occasion in 1654, commemorative thalers and ducats were minted, their multiples and parts, adhering to the standards of individual denominations. Unlike circulating coins, they had a propaganda function, serving to raise the prestige of the rulers and the state. Sometimes the same iconographic scheme was used for different denominations. Two and four-thaler pieces were minted with the thaler (broad) stamp in the case in question. The larger diameter was probably due to the planned content. The 15-line inscription in the field of a standard thaler may have been illegible. Compositionally the coin is not very striking, being a kind of hourglass informing about the reason for its issue, the birth, death and funeral dates of the Prince and its donors. The portrait of the Prince in armour is presented distinctively but remains within the traditional scheme. i.e., the ruler's bust in profile to the right. The image is accompanied by the full titulary placed on most silver and gold coins from his reign. The multiline text on the reverse is purely occasional and official, clearly emphasising the end of the House of Griffin and the coin founders. At the bottom of the inscription, attention is drawn to the last two letters F.F. (fieri fecit - they ordered it to be minted), consciously referring to the abbreviated set on Polish donations by Gdańsk medal makers. It was a permanent element of propaganda testifying to the power and splendour of the issuers. Minting reports show that 120 coins were made with the broad thaler stamp, only a few of which have survived to our times, as evidenced by auction quotations of these coins.

Genowefa Horoszko