1 Thaler Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen (1680 - 1918) Silver Bernhard II ...

1860, Saxe-Meiningen (Duchy), Bernhard II.  Silver Thaler Coin.

Mint Year: 1860 Reference: KM-167. Denomination: Thaler Reference: KM-167  Weight: 18.42gm   Diameter: 33mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Bare bust of Bernhard II left. Designer´s signature (HELBRICHT) inside head truncation. Legend: BERNHARD HERZOG ZU SACHSEN MEININGEN

Reverse: Crowned coat-of-arms of Saxony, surmounted by cross-order below. Legend: EIN VERINSTHALER – XXX EIN PFUND FEIN / 18-60

The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestine duchy of Saxe-Gotha among the seven sons of deceased Duke Ernst der Fromme (Ernest the Pious), the Saxe-Meiningen line of the House of Wettin lasted until the end of the German monarchies in 1918.

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Bernhard II Erich Freund, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (17 December 1800, in Meiningen – 3 December 1882, in Meiningen) was a Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

He was the only son of Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Bernhard was a younger brother of Queen Adelaide of the United Kingdom and Ida, Princess Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Bernhard succeeded his father when he was only three years old (1803); because of this, his mother, the Dowager Duchess Luise Eleonore, acted as regent on behalf of her son until he reached adulthood, in 1821.

In Kassel on 23 March 1825, Bernhard II married Princess Marie Frederica of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). They had two children:

On 12 November 1826, after the redistribution of all the family territories after the death of the last Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Bernhard II received Hildburghausen and Saalfeld.

A very kind family man and proud of his House, Bernhard was a thoughtful husband and father, as long as they obeyed him. In the Austro-Prussian War, he made a decision to side with the Hapsburgs. When the Hapsburgs lost the War, it cost Bernhard the Duchy. On 20 September 1866, Bernhard was forced to abdicate all his territories to his only son, Georg. He spent the rest of his days as a private citizen.