Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1/2 "Bell Taler" From 1643

Thanks Zohar. The bell talers caught my eye years ago due to their history, design, and short duration of the series, but I was never able to get my hands on the right one. I think I have been infected now.

Interestingly, the die does not have a crack on the bell. I suspect that the crack across the bell is due to a planchet flaw. Given the significance of cracked bells in US history, I thought it was an intriguing feature with an interesting placement.

Intresting history, nice coin.

That is an excellent question indeed. I did not realize how complex the war was until I briefly read more about it this morning. Apparently, the French defeat of the Spanish in 1643 appears to have opened the door to negotiations which lasted over a four year period. The parties actively negotiated at Osnabrück and Münster in Westphalia, which ultimately led to the Treaty of Osnabrück and the Treaty of Münster ending both the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War in 1648.

What I did not realize was the extent of the war and the impact on Europe as a whole during this period in history. A war that had its roots in the religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, the conflict spreat throughout Erope as political powers were drawn into the fighting.

While battles raged across Europe, the majority of mass destruction was on German lands. The impacts on German lands were amazing:
- The total population of the German States has been estimated to be about 15% to 30%. Some regions such as Brandenburg lost over 50% of their population.
- The German State male population was reduced by half.
- The Swedish armies alone are believed to have destroyed up to 2,000 castles, 18,000 villages and 1,500 towns in Germany, one-third of all German towns.

You can see why bells would be ringing to celebrate the end of fighting in 1643.

Great question Zohar. Krause would lead me to believe that the 3rd bell taler is 20% higher in price and more scarce, and the coinarchives site supports the assumption. The 4th bell is definitely the most distinctive, featuring a clapper style bell with a stone block. Picture links from coinarchives.com (not my coins unfortunately)

1st bell taler:


2nd bell taler:


3rd bell taler:


4th bell taler:


5th bell taler:


6th bell taler:


7th bell taler:

Also note the different varieties on the 7th bell taler. The sun is portrayed quite differently on the different dies.