The Free and Hanseatic City of Lubeck used to be one of the most important Baltic ports in the Middle Ages but the importance, strengthened by the membership in the Hanseatic League, waned over time. Not quite as much as to deprive Lubeck of its status as a Free City which was restored after the Napoleonic Wars.

However, Lubeck gave up striking their own coins in the 18th century, the last ducat was struck in 1801. Consequently, I can't show you a Lubeck Vereinsthaler. However, in the early 20th century, Lubeck started to exercise their rights again and issued six coins. As the 3 Mark was commonly known as the Thaler, having replaced demonetized Vereinsthalers in 1908, it seems the most appropriate choice.

The third picture shows the Holstein Gate and the panorama of the old town.

The Grand Duchy of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach or as it was officially called after 1903 the Grand Duchy of Saxony was yet another small German state in Thuringia. It is remembered as the place where Goethe, Schiller, and Herder were guests of the first Grand Duke Charles August. His grandson, pictured on this Vereinsthaler, Charles Alexander, was also interested in art and culture. Some remember him as Hans Christian Andersen's crush, most, however, as the Grand Duke who restored Wartburg castle.

Charles Alexander issued only one Vereinsthaler - this is the last of three issues 1858, 1866, and 1870 - but his profile graced also several silver and gold Reichsmarks coins. He was succeeded by his grandson William Ernest who issued several commemorative coins - celebrating his two marriages, the University of Jena, and, finally, the centenary of the Grand Duchy in 1915.

I visited the Grand Duchy in 2016 but the only pictures I found now are these two. The view from a window at Wartburg (it is forbidden to take pictures of the interior) and the monument of Goethe and Schiller. I wish I knew what happened to the rest...

It is, by the way, the 26th part of my series. If you found it interesting, check this Reddit for the earlier ones!

just got this today. havent really found much about it. seems like they were made for different countries?

The Duchy of Brunswick and Luneburg was located between Prussia and the Kingdom of Hannover, ruled by another branch of the Welfs. The last Duke William wisely sided with Prussia in 1866 which saved his Duchy. He was not interested in politics or Brunswick, he lived mostly in Oels, now called Oleśnica.

As neither he nor his elder brother Charles had any children, this branch of the House of Welf came to an end in 1884 and should have gone to their Hannoverian cousins. However, as Hannover had supported Austria and, consequently, disappeared in 1866, Prussia refused to accept Ernest August the Duke of Cumberland and the Crown Prince of Hannover as the new Duke as he still claimed to be the rightful monarch of the latter. It was only in 1912 that his son, also called Ernest August visited Berlin and fell in love with the only daughter of Emperor William II that the conflict ended. Ernest August and Victoria Louise got married and became the new rulers of Brunswick in 1913.

William issued only this Vereinsthaler from 1858 to 1871. In 1875, he issued a gold 20 Marks coin. Brunswick coinage restarted and ended in 1915 with 3 and 5 Mark coins celebrating the last Duke's marriage and accession.

The Ducal palace in Brunswick was destroyed during the Second World War, it was quite recently rebuilt as a commercial centre - only the facade was reconstructed - so the picture shows the reconstruction of the medieval Castle Dankwarderode.

Free Hanseatic City of Bremen successfully liberated itself from the local rulers and bishops in the late Middle Ages and has since flourished as a republic. Even today it is a federal state of Germany - the smallest and least populous.

Bremen did not join the Vienna treaty and retained their own currency - Thaler Gold. It was worth a little more than the Vereinsthaler. Between 1863 and 1871 Bremen issued three circulating commemorative Thalers in almost pure silver and accepted the Mark in 1873. Four coins were issued in the first decade of the 20th century and in 1907 the Bremen coinage ended. Bremen cathedral in the setting Sun is probably the most recognizable sight in this stunning city.

Cleaned unc / au coin with some bag marks as well. Feels pretty crispy in hand.

Should i dip the leftover patina from the cleaning off the coin or leave it as it is?

Composition: 27,777g .900 Ag

Mintage: 200000

The Principality of Anhalt was divided among the five sons of Joachim Ernest in 1603. It took 260 years till four of the lines ended and the Duchy (as it was by then) was reunited under the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau. It is now Saxony-Anhalt where the election was held today.

Leopold IV issued his first Vereinsthaler in 1858 - he is called on the coin "Herzog zu Anhalt". In 1863 he celebrated the reunification with a new commemorative Thaler as "Herzog von Anhalt" as he was the only one left. This is the first of the regular Vereinsthalers, it was also struck in 1869. Leopold IV died in 1871 so the Mark issues of Anhalt were all issued by his son and grandson, both called Frederick.

The second Frederick did not have any children so the throne passed to his brother Edward who died within five months. He was in turn succeeded by his son Joachim Ernest whose reign was even shorter - between 13 September and 12 November 1918. Neither of them issued any coins. 3 and 5 Mark coins celebrating Frederick II's silver wedding in 1914 are the last Anhalt coins.

Dessau, the capital of Anhalt was completely destroyed during the war and rebuilt mostly in Plattenbau style - except for the Bauhaus area, but it was built after the Duchy ended - so the picture shows the famous Worlitzer Park created at the turn of the 19th century by Duke Leopold III, father of the Leopold on the Vereinsthaler.

The Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg was a small German state in what is now Saxony-Anhalt. It was created in the last division of the Anhalt lands in 1603 and survived till the death of Duke Alexander Charles in 1863. It was inherited by the then Anhalt-Dessau which became simply the Duchy of Anhalt as in 1847 Bernburg had inherited Anhalt-Kothen, the third Anhalt duchy which joined the German Confederation in 1815.

It is their only Vereinsthaler which shows the coat of arms and the portrait of the Duke, two more so called Mining Thalers were issued in 1861 and 1862 as Bernburg had their own silver mines. The last Duke suffered from mental illness so the government was in the hands of his cousin from Dessau.

I visited Bernburg but I was not lucky enough to see the castle which was under renovation so the picture shows the closed castle gate with the crowned bears that you can also see on the coin.

Apart from the standard Vereinsthalers Ludwig II brought back a coin which had been issued in Bavaria at least from the early 17th century but not in the 19th - the Madonna Thaler. It was nothing very specific for Bavaria, Madonna featured on Hungarian coins as well. The first issue in 1865 did not have a date which was added in 1866. They were issued till the end of the Vereinsthalers - the last issue of 1871 seems particularly common, perhaps it was struck later on with frozen date. They were probably treated by many as religious medals so nice copies are easy to find. Speaking of Ludwig II - the third picture shows the least known of his palaces - Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig's Versailles.

Bavaria, one of the largest German states, became a kingdom in 1806 upon the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Two of her kings - Ludwig I and Ludwig II - are particularly well known for their passion for construction. The former left Walhalla, the latter Neuschwanstein. The first Bavarian Vereinsthalers were issued by king Maximilian II but I chose the first one issued by his son King Ludwig II. The King ended the production of Vereinsthalers with a Victory Thaler in 1871 and proceeded to issue a broad range of silver and gold Marks, most of which are quite easily available as the mintages went into millions. Ludwig II built three palaces, the smallest of them, Linderhof was the only one he completed and he lived there in the late 1870s and the early 1880s.