Mosquito coins
The mosquito Taler , falsely also wasps Taler called, is a 1599 stamped so-called emblematic Taler of Duke Heinrich Julius to Braunschweig and Lüneburg , Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1589-1613). The front shows twelve heraldic shields, the back a lion symbolizing the duke. Ten wasps fly to him, symbolizing noble families of his country. The wasps are perceived by the lion as mosquitos because the eagle , which symbolizes the emperor , protects him.
The thaler served the duke as a means of propaganda in disputes with some noble families in his country.
Coin-historical connections
The thaler of Duke Heinrich Julius is one of the emblematic thalers that the historian and numismatist Johann David Köhler called the fourth symbol thaler and the so-called "mosquito thaler". This shows
“A seated lion, how he destroys a wasp nest lying in front of him with his front feet, from which six wasps fly towards him on the right and four on the left. But an eagle hovering over him holds a laurel wreath over him and illuminates him on the right side of the sun. "
Köhler's explanation is that the Duke is saying
"That [even if] a swarm of restless heads [...] try to injure him, he should be secured against all [...] enemies by the divine as well as by the solitary protection."
This is probably also an explanation for the fact that Koehler took over the thaler name "Mückentaler", although he mentions wasps in his description. The taler name probably comes from the duke himself, who called the wasps on the taler mosquitos (which he need not fear).
The “swarm of restless heads” refers to noble families in his principality with whom he had disputes before the Imperial Court of Justice.
According to Karl Christoph Schmieder , the "Wespenthaler [or] Mückenthaler, a spiked coin of the Duke [...] Heinrich Julius from 1599". The front shows, according to Schmieder, “twelve heraldic shields composed in the form of a rose.” The lion on the back “destroys a wasp nest, from which 10 wasps drive wildly towards it. This thaler was struck ", so the scholar," after the emperor had punished the 10 vassals of the duke who rebelled against him. "The Mückentaler was minted after the lie taler and the truth thaler , after which Heinrich Julius was struck by the emperor Rudolph II . (1567-1612) was supported.
Soon after taking office, Heinrich Julius became unpopular due to extravagance and tax increases. In 1605 he besieged Braunschweig . The 1606 set by him imperial ban against the Hanseatic city did not produce the hoped-for success. At the imperial court in Prague he became the emperor's confidante. There he led a splendid life, for which he made his principality pay.
Heinrich Julius became known as a playwright . When he died, he left a ruined and impoverished country.
Coin description
The so-called Mückentaler is a silver Reichstaler of Duke Heinrich Julius from the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, minted in the Osterode and Goslar mints . The mint master Heinrich Oeckeler, who worked there from 1590 to 1600, and Heinrich Depsem, who managed the minting operation at the Goslar mint, were responsible for minting coins in Osterode . The Taler pictured wearing Münzmeisterzeichen heart over Zainhaken with arrow crossed the mint master Heinrich Oeckeler. The thaler in the picture weighs 29.05 grams and has a diameter of 41 mm.
front
The front shows twelve heraldic shields, which are composed in the form of a rose. The mint master's mark is located between two coats of arms on the inner circle.
- Transcription: HENRICUS • IULIUS • D (ei) • G (ratia) • P (ostulatus) • E (piscopus) • HA (lberstadensis) • D (ux) • B (runsvicensis) • ET • L (uneburgensis) • 15 * 99 • P (ro) • P (atria) • C (onsumor) • (Heinrich Julius' motto appears after the year.)
- Translation: Heinrich Julius by God's grace , postulated bishop of Halberstadt , Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg. His motto is translated: I despair for the fatherland.
back
The reverse shows a seated lion in a flower meadow with a laurel wreath on its head, attacked by six wasps from the front and four from the back. An eagle hovers over the sun-lit lion. The back picture is framed by a laurel wreath, which consists of four interconnected parts. The thaler shown shows a double strike .
See also
- Air pump thaler of the Brunswick dukes Rudolph August and Anton Ulrich of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- Lichttaler from Duke Julius of the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
literature
- Johann David Köhler: Historischer Münz-Amustigung published weekly in 1729 , Volume 3, 1731
- Carl Christoph Schmieder: Concise dictionary of the entire coinage , Halle and Berlin 1811
- Helmut Kahnt: The large lexicon of coins from A to Z , Regenstauf 2005
- ND Nicol, Marian S. More, Fred J. Borgmann: Standard Catalog of German Coins 1601 to present 1995
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinz Fengler, ...: transpress Lexikon Numismatik ... (1976), p. 418
- ↑ Helmut Kahnt: Das große Münzlexikon… (2005), p. 290: Mückentaler
- ↑ Johann David Köhler: Münzbelustigung , Volume 3 (1731), p 348: Köhler referred to as mosquito Taler Taler, although he describes wasps.
- ↑ Johann David Köhler: Münzbelustigung , Volume 3 (1731), p 348
- ↑ Carl Christoph Schmieder: hand dictionary of the entire coinage (1811), p. 472: description
- ↑ Helmut Kahnt: Das große Münzlexikon… (2005), p. 290: Support from the Kaiser
- ^ Albrecht Eckhardt: Heinrich Julius. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , pp. 352–354 ( digitized version ) .: "shining life"
- ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition, 1885–1890
- ^ Albrecht Eckhardt: Heinrich Julius. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , pp. 352–354 ( digitized version ) .: "ruined and impoverished country"
- ^ ND Nicol, Marian S. More, Fred J. Borgmann: Standard Catalog (1995): Heinrich Depsem and Heinrich Oeckeler
- ↑ Johann David Köhler: Münzbelustigung , Volume 3 (1731), p 346
- ^ Carl Christoph Schmieder: Concise Dictionary of Entire Coin Studies (1811), p. 472