1/4 of a thaler in memoriam of Gustav Adolf

Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) died during the Thirty Years' War at the Battle of Lützen (Saxony). The king's embalmed corpse was taken to the port of Wolgast, where it was then shipped off to Stockholm. To commemorate these events, a series of gold and silver coins were struck in 1633 in impressive multiple-ducat and multiple-thaler speci. Coins with the Swedish king's titulature were created to the standard of the German monetary system and typologically correspond to the Pomeranian thalers and ducats. They were important signs of future Swedish rule in West Pomerania. In terms of design, the stamps of these coins are full of coded symbols and allegorical references. Royal propaganda depicted Gustavus Adolphus as the saviour of the oppressed German Protestants, and the fabled myth of the Lion of the North was an allusion to the biblical Lion of Judah, the symbol and namesake of the chosen ones from the tribe of Judah, including Jesus of Nazareth. The presented coin has the character of a medal issue due to the representation. The obverse features an original allegorical composition of the resurrection of the dead. It refers to Ezekiel 37:1-14 - "The Valley of Dry bones.” Symbolically, the skull and bones express death, however, they also represent the organic matter on which new life grows, such as an exuberantly fruiting vine. In terms of decorative aspects, the reverse of the coin corresponds to its obverse. Attention is drawn to the decorative framing of the coat of arms stylized with floral motifs, and to the private house mark (symbols of the alchemical sulphur and mercury) of the Münzmeister at the Erfurt mint, Johann Schneider. The signature points to Erfurt as the place of minting, but most likely the stamps were brought to Wolgast, where a whole series of commemorative numismatic coins were minted in silver and gold, including genuine specimens - ten, twenty and sixty multiples of ducats. Genowefa Horoszko