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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 1958810, member: 42773&quot;]Most colonial coinage was the coinage that powered world trade during the 18th-century. So in most archeological digs, you find a predominance of Latin American silver, and state-issued coins: Dutch, French, and of course British. Rarely do you find coins of the German states, but they do occur.</p><p><br /></p><p>Last week I visited Colonial Williamsburg and picked up the only numismatic book in the entire gift shop, &#039;The Coins of Colonial America&quot;, by Joseph L. Lasser <i>et al</i>, 1997. I didn&#039;t expect much from the book but it turned out to be surprisingly detailed and informative.</p><p><br /></p><p>The description of coin 62 from this volume has something you might be interested in...</p><p><br /></p><p><b>&quot;62. Württemberg Carolin, 1735, with &quot;S&quot; mintmark.</b></p><p>On the obverse appears the head of Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and on the reverse, the Württemberg coat of arms surrounded by the Order of the Golden Fleece. Several German states issued these carolins in the 1730&#039;s. They were debased coins of only .770 gold content, not the usual .900 to .920 of other coins. Visibly larger than the .900-.920 coins, they contain approximately the same net amount of gold as their smaller brethren. Carolins did not successfully circulate in Europe because of their debased gold content; as a consequence, a sizable percentage were melted down. <u>These coins carry considerable historical importance because they were used to pay the Hessian officers who commanded the Hessian mercenary troops employed by the British Crown to fight in the American Revolutionary War.</u>&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, where the authors got that bit of information is unknown. It&#039;s the sort of thing I would have referenced with a footnote. Are there some military documents or archeological data that confirm it?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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