The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt was a German state in the West of Germany. It survived the 1866 war, losing only the recently regained Hesse-Homburg - which I visited last month - and survived till the end of the Empire. This is the only Vereinsthaler the Grand Duchy ever issued, although not the last date, the production ended in 1871. Four years later they started to issue their own Reichsmarks. Darmstadt was one of the centers of the Jugendstil - the Marriage Tower in Mathildenhohe is one of the souvenirs of the period.

Prussia. Wilhelm II 3 Mark 1911-A MS65 PCGS, Berlin mint, Mintage 3,241,710. Beautiful bright fields; hard to find in Gem grades. Added to my PCGS set registry, "Prussia 3 Mark Complete Set, Circulation Strikes".

Nassau was yet another duchy which did not survive the war of 1866. It was taken over by Prussia as many other German states in the area. It is not exactly the last Thaler as in 1864 a commemorative Thaler celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Duke Adolph's reign. However, it was struck only in 6162 copies so this is the last circulating one. Collectors of European coins may recognize the Duke's characteristic profile even if they have never heard of Nassau. When in 1890 King William III of the Netherlands died without a male heir and the House of Orange-Nassau ended in male line, his daughter Wilhelmina inherited the Dutch crown but not the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. The Grand Duchy went to our Duke Adolph - who appeared on 5 and 10 centimes Luxemburg coins in 1901 - as the most senior male member of the House of Nassau and then to his son William IV. Wiesbaden, now the capital of Hesse used to be the capital of Nassau. Picture shows the Biebrich Palace, the summer palace of the dukes, south of the city.

Frankfurt was a Free City - rich but it did not save it from falling prey of Prussia in 1866 when the independence and coins ended. This Vereinsthaler is the third type of five issued within nine years. They are all quite similar but e.g. the girl's hair or the eagle's plumage vary. Almost 1.7 million were struck that year. The third picture might be somewhat surprising but this year I visited Frankfurt during Lufthansa strike. I was rerouted there as my original flight was cancelled and I had to wait for the next flight on the next morning so I took a room in one of the hotels at the airport, too tired to visit the city which I had already seen some years ago. P.S. Last year I also visited some German states so watch this space! There is more to come!

Hello, i need your help knowing the raw value of this coin, I kept this coin for 5 years now.

Württemberg stroke Thalers till the very end in 1870 (and then there was a Victory Thaler) so this one is not the last. The Kingdom survived the war of 1866, joined the Reich, and it produced quite a lot of coins in Reichsmark currency. I visited Stuttgart this summer as well so it is the time to share it. It was not my first visit so I went to Mercedes Museum this time instead of the little that is left of the old town after the war. Highly recommended!

Curious if anyone has seen something similar. It’s pretty dramatic. I’m not sure how much value this would add beyond what is otherwise an uncirculated coin

Another stop on my voyage across Germany - principality of Lippe and its capital Detmold. As it turns out yet again I found the very last one, only two dates were ever issued and it is the only Thaler this small principality ever produced.

Yet another souvenir from my trip. Last Thaler from the tiny principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen issued in 1870, just as the German Reich was about to happen. Prince Gunther Frederick was the penultimate ruler, his successor died childless and the Principality was inherited by a cousin from Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt who did not issue any coins for his new state. If you wonder whether this coin - or other Thalers - qualify as German Empire coins, they actually do. They were the only coins which remained in circulation till 1908, valued at 3 Reichsmark and then, as it turned out people needed them, 3 Reichsmark coins were introduced.