In a perfect world, governorship of Duchies, Grand Duchies, Kingdoms, etc. fall to the heirs of the reigning ruler, but often, as in the case of Mecklenburg, things can go astray. Those events that change history are wars, death, treaties and the lack of an heir or more than one heir. In Mecklenburg's case, the powers that be in 1592, divided the Duchy into the branches of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Gustrow. That was the first event. The second event came about right after the Thirty Year's War. During the Thirty year's War, the Mecklenburg Dukes sided with the Protestant forces against the Emporer. Albrecht Von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland and Imperial General over the Emporer's troops ousted the Mecklenburg Dukes from their territories in 1628. They were restored to those original dukes in 1632. The third event happened in 1658 when Mecklenburg-Schwerin was split up between the four sons of Adolf Friedrich. Those four divisions were Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Grabow, Mecklenburg-Mirow and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The fourth event occurred because Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Gustrow and Mecklenburg-Mirow failed to produce a male heir rendering those Duchies extinct . Mecklenburg-Mirow disappeared in 1675: Mecklenburg-Schwerin vanished in 1692: Mecklenburg-Gustrow became nonexistent in 1695. The fifth event came about because of a dispute between Mecklenburg-Grabow and Mecklenburg-Strelitz over the abscence of an heir for their former sister cities. A settlement was reached in 1701 which awarded about 80 per cent of Mecklenburg to Grabow which later became the main Schwerin line in 1815. So, from that time until 1918 the only existing Mecklenburg Grand Duchies were Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. To thank all Coin Talk members for your past interests and help in my "TRIVIA" posts I'm deviating from my usual routine to bring your attention to the existance of a long blood-line succession in the leadership of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. That line of succession began with Friedrich Franz I in 1815 when Mecklenburg became a Grand Duchy and ended with the abdication of Friedrich Franz IV in 1918. Following are coins from the reign of Grand Duke Freidrich Franz I. All photos courtesy of Coin Archives unless noted otherwise: MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1828 SILVER 2/3 THALER - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ I MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1828 GOLD 10 THALER - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ I Following are coins from the reign of Grand Duke Freidrich Franz II: MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1848-A SILVER VEREINSTHALER - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ II MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1864 THALER - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ II MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1876-A SILVER 2 MARK - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ II MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1878 GOLD 10 MARK - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ II MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1872 GOLD 20 MARK - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ II Following are coins from the reign of Grand Duke Freidrich Franz III: MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1890 GOLD 10 MARKS - GRAND DUKE FRIEDRICH FRANZ III Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV succeeded his father in 1897. The first silver and gold coins issued during his reign were minted in 1901 to mark the Grand Duke's coming of age. They are as follows: A 28mm silver (0.3215 ounce ASW) 2 Mark struck at Berlin (mint mark A): MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1901-A SILVER 2 MARK - FRIEDRICH FRANZ IV A Gold 10 Mark (0.1152 ounce AGW) and a gold 20 Mark (0.2305 ounce AGW) were issued. 10 Mark 10,000 for circulation - 200 proofs; 20 Mark 5,000 business strikes - 200 proofs: (Design is same as silver 2 Mark). Here's a photo of the 10 Mark: MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1901-A GOLD 10 MARK - FRIEDRICH FRANZ IV In 1904 Friedrich Frans IV married Alexandra and two coins were struck in honor of the event: One is a 28mm Silver 2 Mark (0.3215 ounce ASW): MECKLRNBURG-SCHWERIN 1904-A SILVER 2 MARK - WEDDING TO ALEXANDRA The other is a 38mm Silver 5 Mark (0.8037 ounce ASW) ounce ASW): MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1904-A SILVER 5 MARK - WEDDING TO ALEXANDRA Here's a surprise! Remember the previous text about the <i>successive blood-line</u>? You learned about Friedrich Franz I's start of the Franz lineage began in 1815. That means, in 1915 the lineage anniversary of the Franz Grand Dukedoms reached 100 years. Two Silver coins were issued to commemorate that sacred year. One is a 33mm silver (0.4823 ounce ASW) 3 Mark coin (33,334 b/s - ? proofs): MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1915-A SILVER 3 MARK - 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF GRAND DUCHY The other commemorative coin honoring the 100 Year Anniversary is a 38mm silver (0.8037 ounce ASW) 5 Mark coin (10,000 b/s -? proofs): MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 1915-A SILVER 5 MARK - 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY Hope you enjoyed this partial treatse on Mecklenburg's coin history. Keep reading to see last four coins issued by Mecklenburg-Strelitz under the reign of Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich V: 1905 saw the issuance of three coins: One is 28mm silver (0.3215 ounce ASW) 2 Mark coin. 10,000 b/s and 2,500 proofs: MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ 1904-A SILVER 2 MARK - ADOLF FRIEDRICK V Another is a gold (0.1152 ounce ASW) 10 Mark coin (1,000 b/s - 150 proofs): MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ 1904-A GOLD 10 MARK - ADOLF FRIEDRICH V The third one is a gold (0.2305 ounce 20 Mark piece (1,000 b/s - 150 proofs): MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ 1904-A GOLD 20 MARK - ADOLF FRIEDRICH V The final coin authorized by Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich V is the 33mm 1913-A silver (0.4823 ounce ASW) coin (7,000 b/s and ? proofs): MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ 1904-A SILVER 3 MARK - ADOLF FRIEDRICH V Thought you'd like to know... Clinker
The eagle used on the "Grand Duchy Anniversary" coins from Mecklenburg-Schwerin I find interesting. It is somewhat different from the default eagle, the one that is usually depicted on the 1890-1918 coins. Only very few coins from the Empire (monarchy) have such "non-standard" eagles ... Today Schwerin is the state capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, by the way, a state that by and large consists of the "two Mecklenburgs" plus parts of Pomerania. Christian
Thanks for your posts, Clinker! And as long as you write about topics that I happen to know a little about, I may well continue to add a few tidbits. If you write about other coins, I will probably still find your posts interesting and worth reading but may remain silent. Christian
