The 1/8 thaler on the death of Duke Philip II

The brief minting period of Duke Philip II (1606-1618) was extremely rich in commemorative issues. The contents of the stamps reflected the events and the political situation of the time, and the ruler's ideology. Excerpts from the Psalms often included on stamps were for Philip signposts for conduct in his personal life and matters related to his rule. The ruler's motto Christo et Rei Publice (Christ and the State) indicated his faithfulness to the faith and his readiness to subordinate his life to his duty to rule. The motto can be found on coins and medals and other objects related to the Duke's foundation. The heirless death of Philip II in 1618 greatly affected the further fate of the state. The Duchy of Szczecin was inherited by the eldest of the brothers, the former Bishop of Kamień Pomorski, Franciszek I, who prepared the funeral and ordered coins to be minted in memory of Philip II. These included high denominations - thalers and their multiples, and parts of thalers - half-thalers, orts (1/4 thaler) and half-orts (1/8 thaler). The minor parts of thalers had a non-monetary character (rose bush / zonal inscription) and served as souvenirs distributed during funeral ceremonies. A series of funerals in the ducal family was associated with a curse cast on the Griffins by Sidonie von Bork, and the Duke's severe illness was attributed to her spells. The image of the beautiful rose identified with the Duke, bitten by the serpent, the symbol of Satan, is a manifestation of the sovereign's defencelessness in the face of the fatal blow inflicted by forces hostile to God. The half-portrait is not signed; we can only assume that it was an artistic work of Daniel Sailer, a goldsmith and engraver of stamps, whose initials appear on many outstanding works. The museum copy comes from a German collector, Helmut Hahn’s Pomeranian collection, sold in its entirety at auction in Berlin in 2013.

Genowefa Horoszko