The 1/2 thaler on the death of Duke Philip II

The real heyday of occasional issues in West Pomerania came during the reign of Duke Philip II of Szczecin (1606-1618), a great patron of the arts and a collector. The contents of the stamps reflected the events and political situation of the time and the ideology of the reign (the so-called Regierungskunst). The most numerous were posthumously minted to commemorate the dukes and important figures of the House of Griffins. Many interesting issues commemorated the death of Duchess Anna, the second wife of Bogislaw XIII (1616), and his brother, Duke George III (1617). In turn, the passing of Philip in 1618 was commemorated by his successor Francis I, who minted in Szczecin a series of thalers, their parts and multiples. They featured both traditional compositions, such as the bust of the deceased on the obverse, a multiline legend on the reverse, original depictions of a skull and a scythe, and sentences previously unconnected with his passing, i.e., flowers and the sun. The discussed half-thaler was minted with thaler stamps, which were also used for rare double and quadruple thalers. It is worth noting that a print of the fourfold thaler is also in the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin. The obverse was made with a thaler stamp previously used to produce other rare, undated commemorative specimens. There were thalers with a griffin and shields on the wings, thalers with oval shields in a wreath, and thalers with a sailing boat on the sea. The portrait of the Duke does not deviate from the conventional profile shot; the armour with a sash emphasises the qualities of chivalry of Philip II. The DS initials placed under the ruler's arm indicate Daniel Sailer, an Augsburg goldsmith and medallist employed at the Szczecin mint to manufacture stamps. Sailer was the author of fascinating and varied works, but in the case of this issue, it is difficult to speak of an interesting idea.

Genowefa Horoszko