COLONIAL SILVER/HESSIAN SOLDIERS COIN!!

[Vino]

Had a long day at work today. Yes I do work! Lol
Talked to Scrappy about coming down and swinging with me on this field that was mowed. Well I het there and it was not mowed!
I tols Scrappy to meet me at the 1700s tavern. When I get there he is coming out of the woods with bottles in his hand! He says to me there is all kinds of things in the woods, old foundation bottles..
I said I KNOW!!!!! LOL.
Anyway he talks me in to going in there to hunt. I really wanted to wait till Fall, because of the ticks. Anyway We go in and its pretty thick, kind of tuff to swing.
I get this great high tone. And say Steve this is a good one. He comes over, ( really glad he did) because im hacking away in the hole and he screams stop!!!! We look down and see a big silver. I pull it out and im shaking saying what is it
Well its a German 3 thaler. From Prussia! !
This area was a big battle in rev war.
The battle of Whitemarsh. And there was British and Hessian soldiers camped here back in 1777.
This coin I believe fits in that time frame..
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. Lol.
Thanks Steve for stopping me before I killed another coin.
Thanks for looking
George

 

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[toasted]

Now we know why those Hessians were so easily surprised and defeated at Trenton. They were very careless even with their money

 

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[sutphin]

VINO YOU DONE STRUCK A HOMER WITH THAT COIN . DANG THAT IS A NEAT FIND.

 

[Vino]

Now we know why those Hessians were so easily surprised and defeated at Trenton. They were very careless even with their money

Thats right Toasted.
Maybe they even dropped a COB? LOL

 

[CRUSADER]

Back is complete toast. KG III?

Its a Geo I.

 

[CRUSADER]

Congrats on a lovely looking silver. First I have seen.

 

[Westfront]

Congrats! Great Prussian Silver in fantastic condition!
It's a Prussia for Silesia, 1/3 Reichsthaler, FriedrichII der Grosse, B mintmark for Breslau.

 

[Vino]

Congrats on a lovely looking silver. First I have seen.

Wow, that says alot.

 

[Vino]

Congrats! Great Prussian Silver in fantastic condition!
It's a Prussia for Silesia, 1/3 Reichsthaler, FriedrichII der Grosse, B mintmark for Breslau.

Thanks Westfront.
Any idea if this would have been the money the Hessians would have been using at the time of Rev war?

 

[Westfront]

Thanks Westfront.
Any idea if this would have been the money the Hessians would have been using at the time of Rev war?

They probably used it just because it was official money back then, but this particular coin was minted by the Prussians for Silesia. Hessia had his own coins. Here is a Hessian silver of that timeframe.
1/12Thaler

 

[Vino]

They probably used it just because it was official money back then, but this particular coin was minted by the Prussians for Silesia. Hessia had his own coins. Here is a Hessian silver of that timeframe.
1/12Thaler

Thank you so much West.
You gave me so great information.

 

[Westfront]

Thank you so much West.
You gave me so great information.

You're welcome!

 

[Vino]

You're welcome!

I was just trying to nail down the time frame for this coin.
It looks like it was not in use very long. And I believe the time frame fits. Would have loved to have one of there buttons to go along with it..lol

 

[Westfront]

I was just trying to nail down the time frame for this coin.
It looks like it was not in use very long. And I believe the time frame fits. Would have loved to have one of there buttons to go along with it..lol

1/3 Thaler was quite a bit money back then! It's in wonderful condition. Maybe saved for a rainy day sewed in. You might come over a button there. Would be great for a display case!

Did you know that the word Dollar is based on the word Thaler?

 

[Scrappy]

Man, you're not going to get much closer than that George. The last person to touch that before you was a Hessian! And just barely, it could have been your shovel! Lol

 

[Vino]

Man, you're not going to get much closer than that George. The last person to touch that before you was a Hessian! And just barely, it could have been your shovel! Lol

Lol, yes! Thanks to you, with them cat like reactions. For a Scrappy guy, you are fast!!

 

[romeo-1]

Wow...that is a beauty! Definitely belongs on the BANNER!

 

[Erik in NJ]

A bit more context on the coin for those interested:

According to the Wiki page on Hesse:

The Landgrave Frederick II (1720–1785) ruled as a benevolent despot, 1760-1785. He combined Enlightenment ideas with Christian values, cameralist plans for central control of the economy, and a militaristic approach toward diplomacy.[SUP][4][/SUP] He funded the depleted treasury of the poor nation by renting out 19,000 soldiers in complete military formations to Great Britain to fight in North America during the American Revolutionary War, 1776-1783. These soldiers, commonly known as Hessians, fought under the British flag. The British used the Hessians in several conflicts, including in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. For further revenue the soldiers were rented out elsewhere as well. Most were conscripted, with their pay going to the Landgrave.

The former Prussian province of Silesia was located in the south-western section of modern-day Poland.

Borussorum is Latin for Borussia which is/was German for Prussia.

 

[Vino]

A bit more context on the coin for those interested:

According to the Wiki page on Hesse:

The Landgrave Frederick II (1720–1785) ruled as a benevolent despot, 1760-1785. He combined Enlightenment ideas with Christian values, cameralist plans for central control of the economy, and a militaristic approach toward diplomacy.[SUP][4][/SUP] He funded the depleted treasury of the poor nation by renting out 19,000 soldiers in complete military formations to Great Britain to fight in North America during the American Revolutionary War, 1776-1783. These soldiers, commonly known as Hessians, fought under the British flag. The British used the Hessians in several conflicts, including in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. For further revenue the soldiers were rented out elsewhere as well. Most were conscripted, with their pay going to the Landgrave.

The former Prussian province of Silesia was located in the south-western section of modern-day Poland.

Borussorum is Latin for Borussia which is/was German for Prussia.

Wow, thanks for the history lesson.
Your research is amazing.
Thanks again Erik.

 

[Erik in NJ]

No problem--just trying to add a bit of context to the information that Westfront provided above

Silesia is pictured below in cyan and essentially is the territory of former Prussia where modern-day Poland borders the Czech Republic. Notice the city of Wrocław (in German it's Breslau where your coin was minted) which is the largest city in western Poland. It is situated on the River Odra in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly 350 kilometres from the Baltic Sea to the north and 40 kilometres from the Sudety Mountains to the south.

The obverse of your coin in Latin says Frederick II King of Prussia.

Reich is a German word meaning literally "realm" or "empire". So Reichs Thaller is roughly translated to "Empire Dollar." And the date of your coin places it in an interesting period of Prussian history known as the Holy Roman Empire (a bit of an ironic name actually) which was dissolved in 1806--this was also known as the first Reich. The second Reich was the Hohenzollern Empire (1871–1918) and of course the third Reich was Nazi Germany (1933–1945).

As an interesting related aside, King of Prussia, PA took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after King Frederick II of Prussia.

Take me there for a few pints of their finest German lager, bring your Prussian coin, and show it to the most lovely single female patrons at the bar to impress them with your grasp of history

 

[Vino]

Thats very cool. I live 15min from King of Prussia!!!!