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Category: World Coins

BRUNSWICK-WOLFENBÜTTEL, 24 MARIENGROSCHEN “WILDMAN,” GERMANY, 1694

W013

Silver, 2/3 Thaler, Fine

35 mm (1-3/8”), 21.3 grams

HISTORY: The Principality of Brunswick and District of Wolfenbüttel is located in the state of Lower Saxony, which has been an important center of commerce since the 13th century in medieval Germany. They minted their own coinage from the early 1600s.

OBVERSE: “1694 * REMIGIO ALTISSIMI UNI.” rings the outer rim of this thaler coin. Inside the center ring is “*24* MARIEN GROSCH V.FEIN.SIL B: ***.” This silver 24 mariengroschen coin is the largest of the thalers and is equivalent to ½ Reichsthaler species.

REVERSE: “*D:G:RUD:AUG:&ANTH:VLR:DD:BR:& LU:” encircles the image of wildman (or wildman of the woods), tending to his trees. Wildman was a common mythical figure in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe and is the equivalent of the satyr or faun in classical mythology. He is often associated with Silvanus, Roman god of the woodlands, protector of forests. At the time this thaler was minted, Germania was fresh from the Protestant Reformation, thus the modest cloaking of branches on this wildman.