Item number: A4695

Reference number: KM#100

Year: AD 1870

Material: Silver

Size: 31.5 x 31.5 mm

Manufactured by: Berlin Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2026

This is a silver 1-thaler coin issued by the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in AD 1870.

At the centre of the obverse is a left-facing portrait of Grand Duke Frederick William (Friedrich Wilhelm), surrounded by the German inscription “FRIEDRICH WILH. V. G. G. GROSSH. V. MECKLENB. STRL.”, meaning “Friedrich Wilhelm, by the Grace of God, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz”. Below the portrait is the letter “A”, the mint mark of the Berlin Mint, while a beaded border runs around the outer edge.

The reverse features the crowned seven-part arms of Mecklenburg, encircled by the Garter bearing the Middle French motto ‘HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE’, meaning ‘Shame on him who thinks evil of it’. Around the design is the German inscription ‘EIN THALER XXX EIN PF. F.’; ‘EIN THALER’ denotes the denomination of one thaler, while ‘XXX EIN PF. F.’ indicates that thirty thalers were struck from one pound of fine silver, reflecting the 30-thaler standard then in use. The date appears below. The edge bears the inscription ‘GOTT SCHIRME MECKLENBURG’, meaning ‘May God protect Mecklenburg’. In addition, bronze trial strikes produced from the obverse die are also known.

The simplified form of the Mecklenburg coat of arms features a bull’s head, while the full version comprises six fields and a central inescutcheon, representing the seven historical territories from which Mecklenburg developed.

By the mid-eighteenth century, changing economic conditions and the prevailing political situation had made it increasingly difficult to establish a unified monetary system among the German states of the Holy Roman Empire. On the recommendation of the Director-General of the Mint, Grauman, King Frederick II of Prussia ordered the introduction of a new thaler in AD 1750, equivalent in value to the existing accounting thaler of 24 groschen. This denomination subsequently formed the basis of the Prussian currency until the introduction of the mark. As part of the reform, the mint master’s marks formerly used on coins were replaced by identifying letters denoting the individual mints, a practice that has continued to the present day.

Austria revised its coinage standard in AD 1750 in response to the reforms introduced in Prussia. In AD 1753, this system, known as the Konventionsmünzfuß (Convention Coinage Standard), became the basis of a coinage agreement between Austria and Bavaria. Under its provisions, ten Konventionstaler (Convention thalers) were struck from one mark of fine silver. Like the earlier Reichstaler, each was valued at two gulden and was therefore commonly known as a ‘two-gulden piece’.

With the exception of Prussia, the Hanseatic cities, Oldenburg, Holstein and Mecklenburg, all the German states eventually adopted this coinage standard. Unlike Austria, however, Bavaria was unable to maintain the Convention thaler at a value of 120 kreuzer and therefore raised the nominal values of both the Convention thaler and the gulden to prevent these coins from flowing into neighbouring states. As a result of this adjustment, the Convention system in southern Germany shifted from the original 10-thaler or 20-gulden basis to a 24-gulden standard, also known as the Rheinischer Fuß (Rhenish standard).

In AD 1838, at Prussia’s initiative, most member states of the German Customs Union concluded a coinage treaty at Dresden, under which the principal currency units were reduced to two: the gulden in southern Germany and the Prussian thaler in northern Germany. The treaty also introduced a common union coin (Vereinsmünze), valued at two thalers or 3½ gulden.

In AD 1857, the Vienna Coinage Treaty extended the monetary agreement to include Austria and Liechtenstein and established both the Prussian thaler and the existing double thaler as union coins. The new Vereinstaler was valued at 1¾ gulden in southern Germany and 1½ gulden in Austria. Although the Mecklenburg duchies remained outside the treaty, they continued to strike thalers according to the Prussian coinage standard without using the designation Vereinstaler. Accordingly, the inscription ‘XXX EIN PF. F.’ on Mecklenburg-Strelitz thalers denotes a standard under which thirty thalers were struck from one pound of fine silver, equivalent to approximately 16.67 grams of fine silver per coin.

Mecklenburg underwent several territorial divisions over the course of its history as a result of dynastic succession. The succession settlement of AD 1621 established the Schwerin and Güstrow lines. During the Thirty Years’ War, the rulers of both branches were deprived of their territories by Albrecht von Wallenstein. In AD 1701, the Treaty of Hamburg (Hamburger Vergleich) established the duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In AD 1815, both were elevated to grand duchies. They subsequently joined the North German Confederation in AD 1866 and became constituent states of the German Empire five years later.

Frederick William was the son of Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In AD 1843, he married Princess Augusta of Cambridge, a granddaughter of King George III, and was later appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria. The Garter encircling the Mecklenburg arms on the coin reflects this distinction.

Following his father’s death on 6 September AD 1860, Frederick William succeeded as Grand Duke. His reign coincided with a period of profound change in the political order of the German states. The Neue Deutsche Biographie describes him as politically conservative, noting his sympathies towards Austria and opposition to German unification under Prussian leadership. According to the same source, this stance even placed Mecklenburg-Strelitz at risk of annexation by Prussia.

However, subsequent developments ultimately brought the state into the new Prussian-led order, with Mecklenburg-Strelitz joining the North German Confederation in AD 1867 and becoming a constituent state of the German Empire four years later.

He died on 30 May AD 1904 and was succeeded by his son, Adolf Friedrich V, who, in contrast to his father, was more receptive to the new political order that had emerged following German unification and pursued reforms left unfinished during the preceding reign.

Although the County and Principality of Schwerin bear the same name in the Mecklenburg arms, they originated from two distinct historical territories. The former emerged in the Middle Ages as a secular county ruled by counts. Following its incorporation into Mecklenburg in AD 1358, its heraldic device gradually became part of the composite arms. By contrast, the latter originated as an ecclesiastical territory under episcopal rule. As the dukes progressively strengthened their control over local ecclesiastical affairs from the early sixteenth century onwards, it was eventually secularised following the Peace of Westphalia in AD 1648 and transformed into the Principality of Schwerin as compensation for lands ceded to Sweden. In AD 1658, the emblems of the Principalities of Schwerin and Ratzeburg were incorporated into the composite Mecklenburg arms. In short, the two originated respectively from a medieval secular county and an ecclesiastical territory formerly governed by a bishop.

物件編號: A4695

參考書目編號: KM#100

年代: 公元 1870 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 31.5 x 31.5 mm

製造地: 柏林鑄造廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2026

這是一枚公元1870年梅克倫堡-施特雷利茨大公國所發行的1塔勒銀幣。

錢幣正面中央是大公腓特烈．威廉面朝左側肖像，四周環繞德文「FRIEDRICH WILH.V.G.G.GROSSH.V.MECKLENB.STRL.」，意指腓特烈·威廉，蒙上帝恩典之梅克倫堡-施特雷利茨大公；頭像下方有一字母「A」，是德國柏林鑄造廠的標記，外圍另有一層珠圈。

背面中央為戴冠的梅克倫堡七部分紋章，外環以嘉德勳章吊襪帶，其上刻有中古法語格言「HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE」，意為「對此心懷惡念者蒙羞」。紋章周圍環列德文銘文「EIN THALER XXX EIN PF. F.」，其中「EIN THALER」表示面額為一塔勒，「XXX EIN PF. F.」意指每一磅純銀鑄成三十塔勒，反映當時採行的30塔勒制；下方刻有年份。硬幣邊銘刻有「GOTT SCHIRME MECKLENBURG」，有願上帝庇佑梅克倫堡之意。此外，亦存在以正面模具製作的青銅試鑄幣。

梅克倫堡紋章的簡化形式為一顆公牛頭，而完整紋章則由六個分區及一面中央小盾組成，分別象徵構成梅克倫堡的七個歷史領地。

18世紀中葉，由於經濟環境的轉變，加上當時政治局勢所限，在神聖羅馬帝國境內的德意志諸邦之間建立統一的貨幣制度已難以實現。根據鑄幣總監格勞曼（Grauman）的建議，普魯士國王腓特烈二世於公元1750年下令採用一種新塔勒，其價值相當於原有以24格羅申計算的記帳塔勒。此種塔勒此後一直構成普魯士貨幣制度的基礎，直至馬克貨幣制度實施為止。與此同時，錢幣上原本使用的鑄幣師標記亦改由代表各鑄幣廠的識別字母取代，這套制度沿用至今。

奧地利於公元1750年修改鑄幣標準，以回應普魯士所進行的改革。公元1753年，這套標準以「公約鑄幣標準」（Konventionsmünzfuß）之名，成為奧地利與巴伐利亞鑄幣協定的基礎。新的公約塔勒（Konventionstaler）規定以一馬克純銀鑄造10枚；與舊有的帝國塔勒相同，每枚價值2古爾登，因此通常被稱為「二古爾登幣」。

除普魯士、漢薩諸城市、歐登堡、霍爾斯坦及梅克倫堡外，所有德意志邦國最終皆採用了這套鑄幣標準。然而，與奧地利不同，巴伐利亞無法維持公約塔勒兌120克魯茲的比價，因此提高公約塔勒與古爾登的名目價值，以避免這些錢幣流入鄰近邦國。經由這次調整，公約鑄幣標準在南德地區由原本的10塔勒制或20古爾登制轉變為24古爾登制；後者亦稱為「萊茵制」（Rheinischer Fuß）。

公元1838年，在普魯士的推動下，德意志關稅同盟的大多數成員國於德勒斯登締結鑄幣條約。根據該條約，主要貨幣單位被整合為兩種：南德地區的古爾登與北德地區的普魯士塔勒。條約亦引入一種共同的同盟幣（Vereinsmünze），其價值為2塔勒或3½古爾登。

公元1857年，《維也納鑄幣條約》進一步將奧地利與列支敦士登納入貨幣合作，並確立普魯士塔勒與原有雙塔勒的同盟幣地位。新的同盟塔勒在南德地區價值1¾古爾登，在奧地利則為1½古爾登。梅克倫堡諸公國並未加入這項條約，但仍依普魯士鑄幣標準鑄造塔勒，只是不使用「同盟塔勒」之名。因此，梅克倫堡－施特雷利茨所鑄塔勒上的「XXX EIN PF. F.」反映的正是以一磅純銀鑄造30枚塔勒的標準，相當於每枚約含16.67克純銀。

梅克倫堡在歷史上曾多次因王朝繼承而發生領土分割。公元1621年的繼承安排形成施威林與居斯特羅兩個支系。三十年戰爭期間，兩支統治者遭華倫斯坦（Albrecht von Wallenstein）奪去領地。公元1701年，《漢堡協議》將梅克倫堡劃分為施威林與施特雷利茨兩個公國。公元1815年，兩國均升格為大公國，其後於公元1866年加入北德意志邦聯，並在五年後成為德意志帝國的成員邦。

腓特烈·威廉是梅克倫堡－施特雷利茨大公格奧爾格之子。公元1843年，他迎娶劍橋的奧古斯塔公主，即英王喬治三世的孫女，之後獲維多利亞女王授予英國嘉德勳章；錢幣上環繞梅克倫堡紋章的吊襪帶，亦反映了他的騎士身分。

公元1860年9月6日，父親去世後，繼承大公之位。他的統治時期恰好跨越德意志政治秩序劇烈改變的年代。《Neue Deutsche Biographie》一書中描述他認為一切革新都是有害的，並認為其對奧地利較為親近、對普魯士主導的德意志統一抱持反對態度；該書甚至指出，這一立場一度使梅克倫堡－施特雷利茨面臨遭普魯士兼併的風險。

不過，政治局勢最終導致其國納入普魯士主導的新德意志體系，即加入北德意志邦聯，之後在公元1871年成為德意志帝國的成員邦。

公元1904年5月30日逝世，其子阿道夫·腓特烈五世繼位。相較於父親，他接受德意志統一後的新政治秩序，並著手推行此前遭到延誤的改革。

梅克倫堡紋章中的施威林伯國與親王國雖然名稱相同，實際上卻源自兩個不同的歷史領地。前者形成於中世紀，是由伯爵統治的世俗領地，公元1358年歸入梅克倫堡後，其紋章亦逐漸成為複合紋章的一部分。相較之下，後者則是主教所統治的教會世俗領地。隨著梅克倫堡公爵自16世紀初逐步加強對當地教會事務的控制，至公元1648年《威斯特伐利亞和約》簽訂後，該領地遭到世俗化，並作為梅克倫堡割讓部分領土予瑞典的補償，轉變為世俗的親王國。公元1658年，施威林親王國與拉策堡親王國的紋章進一步被納入梅克倫堡複合紋章。總言之，兩者分別源自中世紀的世俗伯爵領與原屬主教統治的教會世俗領地。