When the German Empire came into being in 1871, 38 German States (of about 1800) still existed. When the German Empire was formed a new major currency emerged along with the new nation; the Mark. All minor coins and the silver 1 Mark were struck at government owned mints, but the 38 German States wre given the right to authorize the issuing of silver coins in denominations of 2, 3, and 5 Mark plus gold coins of 10 and 20 Mark. These had to be struck by a nearby government mint The previous major currency was the Thaler, which was minted by the individual States own mints or at neighboring states mints. The minor coinage of both major denominations consisted of Pfennig and multiples of Pfennigs. A few of the German States issued coins bearing the denomination Dreiling which translates to 3 Pfennigs. Many German States produced variable fractional Thalers. Both Thaler and Mark could be broken down to 100 Pfennigs. As we look at the Thaler Currencies of the German States we will visit each entity in alphabetical Order We start with A for Anhalt-Bernberg which is depicted on the map by the color dark green (almost black). Notice how Anhalt-Bernburg is divided on the map? The reason being that it inherited those areas from former German States who went extinct because of the lack of an heir. Here's the map showing the areas ruled by Anhalt-Bernburg MAP SHOWING TERRITORIES OF ANHALT-BERNBURG Let's look at some of the Thaler coinage (courtesy of Coin Atchives): Anhalt-Bernburg Feast your eyes upon this fine silver 1/3 Thaler struck in 1750 under the leadership of Victor Friedrich: ANHELT-BERNBURG 1750 1/3 THALER - VICTOR FRIEDRICH Here's what a 1/24 Thaler struck in 1827 under the leadership of Alexius Friedrich Christian looks like (World Coin Gallery photo): ANHALT-BERNBURG 1827 1/24 THALER - ALEXIUS FRIEDRICH CHRISTIAN Our next specimen is this 1856 1/6 Thaler minted under the leadership of Alexander Carl (World Coin Gallery Photo): ANHALT-BERNBURG 1856 1/6 THALER - ALEXANDER CARL Our next coin is an 1859-A silver Thaler authorized under the leadership of Alexander Carl (Coin Archives photo): ANHALT-BERNBURG 1859-A SILVER THALER - ALEXANDER CARL Duke Alexander Carl died without issue in 1863, whereafter Anhalt-Bernburg was inherited by Duke Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau, re-uniting all Anhalt lands under his rule. Hope you enjoyed this post... Clinker
Hello Inquisitive... Appreciate you reading this trivia post and your positive comment. THANKS! Clinker
