Thaler of the Reich

In the medieval German Reich, in addition to cities owned by local feudal lords, there were also imperial cities directly subordinate to the emperor and free cities outside local jurisdiction. Both had the right to mint their own money. Imperial cities manifested their status by putting the name of the currently reigning emperor on their coins. The conflict between German Protestants and Catholics, known as the Thirty Years' War, and the expenses it entailed, led to the launch of numerous mints. One of them was in Frankfurt, which saw an increase of thaler minting in the first half of the 17th century. The year 1623, when this coin was struck, was the year of a short ceasefire, allowing the belligerents to raise the funds needed to continue the war. The coin features a key and the letters AE in ligature – both denoting Caspar Ayrer, the Frankfurt mint operator in 1618–1636. The main and only motif of the reverse is a Greek cross with the municipal coat of arms at the intersection of its arms. The symbol continued to be used in the Frankfurt mint for many decades after the cessation of hostilities. The appearance of the ends of the cross arms varied. In the case of this coin, they depict angels, but the most common design, dating back to the time of the Thirty Years' War, was a straight cross with slightly expanded tips. This is certainly not a matter left to chance – instead, it expressed political sympathies. Although the imperial city should in theory support the Catholic Emperor militarily, it never officially took sides in the conflict. Thus, even during the Swedish occupation of 1631-1635 Frankfurt suffered no major damage and enjoyed the status of a free city until 1866, when it was incorporated into Prussia during the unification of Germany. It was one of the last free cities in the Reich. Along with political separation, its mint also ceased to exist.

Mieszko Pawłowski