Thaler of the Reich

Oettingen was a small county in southern Germany, but its rulers consistently increased their holdings. In 1522 the county and the family were divided into two lines: Protestant Oettingen-Oettingen and Catholic Oettingen-Wallerstein. Graf Ludwig Eberhard (1577-1634), whose name appears on the thaler, was a descendent of the Protestant family. He was not formally the rule, but a regent to Joachim Ernest (1612-1659), who ruled from 1622 to 1659. He minted the most beautiful Oettingen thalers – one of them is presented here. The two-headed imperial eagle, stylistically reminiscent of eagles on 16th century coins, was engraved with great attention to details. The artist also put a lot of effort into rendering the details of the family coat of arms, in particular the fancifully curved mantling, as well as other elements, such as the non-standard borders of the obverse and reverse, or the classical font used for the inscriptions. The most noteworthy is the crest of the helmet, depicting the breast and head of a hunting dog. Judging by the shape of the ears and their proportions, it is an image of a hound or bloodhound. Dogs of these breeds are known for their intelligence, loyalty, strength, confidence, calm temperament, but also for their tendency to be aggressive when threatened. This dog represents all the qualities that a knight should have. These beautiful thalers were minted between 1623 and 1625. The county of Oettingen left few thalers, and the coins minted by the rulers were purely commemorative. In 1694, Wolfgang IV Oettingen-Wallerstein (1629-1708), who may have seen one of the thalers of Ludwig Eberhard, ordered a very similar coin to be struck in Augsburg.

Mieszko Pawłowski