38 Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Mecklenburg, Friedland and Sagan, 1632 Thaler, mint of Gitschin (Jičín), silver, inv. no. Mü 18181 Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583–1634), the renowned military commander of the Thirty Years’ War, was granted the Duchy of Mecklenburg by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1629. He introduced a variety of reforms to modernise the territory and planned extensive renovations to Schloss Güstrow, his official residence. However, many of these measures were reversed when the Dukes of Mecklenburg returned from exile. Wallenstein also launched a largescale coinage programme. His motto was: ‘Let us mint boldly’, and he justified his actions with the words: ‘Yet I do this not for profit, but for reputation.’ In line with this, he ensured that his imperial title, Herzog von Mecklenburg (‘Duke of Mecklenburg’), was displayed prominently on the coins. This thaler was acquired in September 2024 with the generous support of Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Osnabrück. _TF
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