Friedrich d'or
The Friedrich d'or ( French d'or "made of gold") or Friedrichsdor , named after Frederick the Great , is a Prussian gold coin with a face value of 5 silver Prussian Reichstalers ( pistol ), which was minted between 1741 and 1855.
history
The models were the Spanish doubloon and the French Louis d'or . The predecessor was the Wilhelm d'or. Frederick the Great (1740–1786) had the Friedrich d'or minted for the first time in 1741. From 1747 double and from 1749 half Friedrich d'or were minted. In 1770 the fine weight fell from 6.05 g to 6.03 g.
Friedrich's successor Friedrich Wilhelm II. , Friedrich Wilhelm III. and Friedrich Wilhelm IV. continued to run the coin until it was withdrawn in 1855.
Other states such as B. Saxons also named their gold coins after the first name of the respective regent : August d'or , Friedrich August d'or, Christian d'or, Max d'or. In times of need, these gold coins - in addition to silver coins - were also subject to a temporary deterioration in fineness .
course
Since the Friedrich d'or was a coin in circulation and also a trading coin at the time of the silver standard , it had a changing rate for the silver curant money , which could be read on the so-called price slips of the stock exchanges . Usually it was traded with a small premium or discount at a nominal value of 5 thalers. In Prussian sales contracts or promissory notes , a distinction was made between “Prussian Courant” or “Friedrich d'or” as the means of payment .
In the time around 1780 z. For example, the Saxon August d'or in Germany has a price of 116 to 120 groschen of Saxon silver curant money, i.e. a maximum discount of up to 4 groschen. In the 19th century he usually had a low agio.
Appearance
The Friedrich d'or is made of 21- carat gold. The fine weight is 6.032 g.
On the front is the head, later the portrait of the king. On the back there is an eagle on weapons. In the arm section of the portrait of the Prussian Friedrich d'ors from 1800 to 1814 there is a small L, the signature of the coin engraver Daniel Friedrich Loos .
In contrast to the large (coarse) silver Kurant coins, the various gold coins (Friedrich d'or, Friedrich Wilhelm d'or) as well as the ducats often lack a denomination in thalers or even an indication of the fine weight in the mint , which is probably the reason for this the small coin size. In addition, due to their high purchasing power, the recipient weighed these gold coins individually on the coin scales with the corresponding passing weight and at the same time examined them for possible coin adulteration.
All of the above gold coins are very rare today and fetch high collector prices.
See also
literature
- Fred Reinfeld: Coin catalog of the most famous coins from antiquity to the present. Munich: Ernst Battenberg Verlag, 1965, without ISBN (sorted by country in alphabetical order; important coins from German countries, e.g. Prussia or Saxony, on pages 60–91)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Duden only lists the form Friedrichsdor with Fugen-s; see. Friedrichsdor online at Duden. However, the variant Friedrich d'or is just as common . There is also the spelling Friedrichsd'or .
