The wide 1/2 thaler on the death of Duke Francis I

Duke-Bishop Francis I took over the Duchy of Szczecin in 1618, following the untimely death of Philip II. The Duke's warlike and boisterous nature meant that his short two-year reign did not go down well in history. Negative opinions were aroused both by his intention to convert the buildings of the Szczecin Pedagogical Institute into stables, which fortunately did not materialise and by the order to behead and burn at stake the noblewoman Sydonia von Bork for an alleged curse on the House of Griffin. The mint plunged into an inflationary crisis, was of no interest to Francis. The mint in Szczecin was leased to the previous mint master, Johan Schambach, who, despite fears, produced coins that conformed to monetary standards. To satisfy the market, only small denominations, pennies and two-shillings were minted in large quantities, and a few thalers, golden ducats and guilders were issued for the needs of the court. Francis I died childless in 1620 at the age of forty-seven. The rule was taken over by Bogislaw XIV, the last of the House of Griffin, who organised his brother's funeral with the money destined for the defence of the country. On that occasion, silver commemorative coins were minted in Szczecin - quarter thalers and thalers - and specimens weighing from half to four thalers with the same thaler stamp. The well-crafted portrait of the deceased ruler is surrounded by elaborate royal titles, fully emphasising the princely status and hereditary rights to the Kashubian and Veneti. It is an expression of the court's propaganda, wishing to integrate the country's defenders during the Thirty Years' War. The ten-line inscription on the reverse of the stamp contains universal information about the reason for its issue, dates of birth and death and its founder. The lower ornament bears the G-T initials belonging to the engraver of the stamp, Gottfried Tabbert. It is worth mentioning that a very similar portrait of Francis with all the titles to the lands ruled by the Griffins can be found on beautiful non-dated thalers and gold prints of this stamp (weights 6 and 10 ducats). The silver specimens were then signed by Gottfried Tabbert and the gold ones by Daniel Sailer. The museum specimen comes from Prof. Helmut Hahn's Pomeranian collection, sold in its entirety at auction in Berlin in 2013.

Genowefa Horoszko