Thaler

Thalers are one of the numerous testimonies of the actions of Duke Bogislaw XIV in West Pomerania during the Thirty Years' War. Massively minted in 1628-1634, they were intended to support the imperial occupation forces. Despite the policy of neutrality, the Duchy, as part of the Reich, had to pay the war tax (over 83 thousand thalers), and since 1627 it was obliged to maintain the army of Emperor Ferdinand II on its territory. Thalers minted in Szczecin and Koszalin are iconographically traditional. There is the ruler's bust or half-figure and the coat of arms of West Pomerania on all of them. A vital problem is their division into mints. It is assumed that thalers made in Koszalin had the title of bishop in the titulary and a shield with a cross (the symbol of bishopric) placed in the heart of the Pomerania coat of arms. There are many exceptions, and the lack of written sources on the functioning of mints after 1629 makes it impossible to distinguish between them. The situation is also complicated by the goldsmith and engraver from Szczecin, Gottfried Tabbert's signature often seen on thalers from both mints. The presented specimen fits into the conventional type of Pomeranian thalers, but the details reveal the hand of an experienced engraver. Both the ruler's bust and the side of the coat of arms are worked out with great precision, especially the end of the shield with the finely worked jewel and fancifully winding mantles. The Duke's head goes beyond the limitations imposed by the scheme and breaks the legend, as does the jewel flanking the shield on the reverse side. The thaler has no signatures, but the motif of the cross and the title of the bishopric indicate the Koszalin production. Thalers were minted until the end of the reign of the ailing Bogislaw XIV, but the country, devastated by war, did not benefit from it. After the expulsion of the imperial army, the Pomeranians had to support the Swedish army (200 thousand thalers). The Koszalin mint was closed after the Duke's death.

Genowefa Horoszko