The thaler on the occasion of the solemn funeral of Prince Bogusław XIV

The heirless death of duke Boguslaw XIV in 1637 led to the end of the Gryfit dynasty and the division of West Pomerania. Due to the ongoing Thirty Years' War, the official farewell to the last Pomeranian ruler took place 17 years later. On this occasion, a series of unusual commemorative coins was minted with contents relating to the Duke's passing away and the end of the whole dynasty in 1654. The coins were not intended for circulation, and therefore, they were distinguished by their original design and sometimes looked more like medals. Particularly telling is the depiction of a crowned griffin with shields on wings, standing on the trunk of a fallen tree, next to which a skull is placed. Two young shoots are growing out of the trunk, bearing the coats of arms of Sweden and Brandenburg, the successors to the divided Pomerania. This unusually well-thought-out abstract motif of an oak trunk symbolises an extinct dynasty, while the two young shoots point to the heirs. The radiant sun at the top of the image gives some hope and reinforces the optimistic message of the symbolism. The reverse side of the thaler is filled with inscriptions across its surface. In Latin, the central multi-line inscription is a funeral notice, a kind of hourglass, informing about the funeral of the last ruler of the House of Griffin and dates of his birth and death. The inscription in German in the triple rim has a special message, a request to God for further protection of Pomerania, already under new symbols - three crowns (of Sweden) and a sceptre (of Brandenburg). The thalers bear the signature of the excellent Szczecin goldsmith and medal maker, Gottfried Tabbert, largely owing him their high artistic level. The coin originates from the Greifswald collector Carl Friedrich Pogge (1753-1840), which was sold at auction in 1903. More than 850 Pomeranian coins and medals, never seen together in such numbers, have been assembled in the multi-thousand collection. It was acquired for the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin in 2013 at an auction in Berlin (Pomeranian collection of Prof. Helmut Hahn).

Genowefa Horoszko