W. C a r e w H a z l i t t Coinage of the European Continent

Descriptive Outline of the Coinages of Europe 323
duke. The earlier example was presumably,
from its exceptional
character, issued during a political emergency, like
the Brandenburgh money of the same period during the
pacification of Passau.
The historical interest of the later Mecklemburgh currency
centres in Wallenstein, or Albrecht von Waldstein,
Duke of Mecklemburgh and Friedland, and one of the
prominent figures in the Thirty Years' War (1618-48). Of
this distinguished man we possess tolerably complete numismatic
evidences extending from 1626 to 1632,
in a succession
of thalers with his full-face portrait and a 10 florin
or ducat piece of 1632, varying in the bust and the drapery.
We have seen no other denominations. The thalers belong
to 1626 (two varieties), 1627 (do.), 1628 (do.), 1629 (do.),
1630, 1631, and 1632.
There is an abundance of coinage of base alloy connected
with Mecklemburgh, not only belonging to the urban currencies
of anterior date, but to the perturbed epoch of the
Seven Years' War (1756-63).
This province first presents itself to our notice as a sort
of duchy under the suzerainty of that of Poland, when the
separate coinage was restricted to bracteates, of
which one (Po'mmern) bears four rudimentary portraits representing
the two dukes and their brothers surrounding
a cross. On some of those pieces we are
reminded of the Anglo - Saxon pennies in the presence of