1 Thaler Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1352-1918) Silver Frederi ...

1870, Mecklenburg-Sterlitz, Frederick William. Rare Silver Thaler Coin

Mint Year: 1870

Reference: KM-100.

Mint Place: Berlin (A)

Denomination: Thaler

Weight: 18.50gm  

Diameter: 33mm

Material: Silver  

Obverse: Head of Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Sterlitz left.  Mint initial (A) below.

Legend: FRIEDRICH WILH. V. G. G. GROSSH. V. MECKLENB. STRL.     

Reverse: Crowned coat-of-arms within Order of the Garter. Date (1870) below.

Garter Inscription:  HONI  SOIT  QUI  MAL  Y  PENSE ("Shame be to him who thinks evil of it!")

Legend. EIN THALER – XXX EIN PF. F. 

This statement "Honi soit qui mal y pense" supposedly originated when King Edward III was dancing with his first cousin and daughter-in-law, Joan of Kent. Her garter slipped down to her ankle, causing those around her to snicker at her humiliation. In an act of chivalry Edward placed the garter around his own leg, saying “Honi soit qui mal y pense”, and the phrase later became the motto of the Order.

The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany, consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), and the western exclave of the former bishopric of Ratzeburg in modern Schleswig-Holstein. At the time of its establishment, the duchy bordered on the territory of Swedish Pomerania in the north and of Brandenburg in the south.

After more than five years of dispute over succession to the House of Mecklenburg, the duchy was established in 1701 in the territory of the former duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. The Güstrow branch of the House of Mecklenburg had died out with the death of Duke Gustav Adolph in 1695. Duke Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin claimed heirship, but he had to deal with the demands of his uncle Adolphus Frederick, husband of Mary of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, the daughter of Gustav Adolph. The emissaries of the Lower Saxon Circle finally negotiated a compromise on March 8, 1701. The agreement created the final, definitive division of Mecklenburg and was sealed with the 1701 Treaty of Hamburg. Section 2 of the treaty established Mecklenburg-Strelitz as a duchy in its own right and assigned it to Adolphus Frederick, together with the Principality of Ratzeburg on the western border of Mecklenburg south of Lübeck, the Herrschaft Stargard in the southeast of Mecklenburg, with the cities of Neubrandenburg, Friedland, Woldegk, Strelitz, Burg Stargard, Fürstenberg/Havel and Wesenberg, and the commandries of Mirow and Nemerow. At the same time the principle of primogeniture was reasserted, and the right to summon the joint Landtag was reserved to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The 1701 provisions were maintained with minor changes until the end of the monarchy. Both parties continued to call themselves Dukes of Mecklenburg; Adolphus Frederick took his residence at Strelitz.

The Strelitz duchy remained one of the most backward regions of the Empire. Nevertheless, its princesses achieved prominent marriages: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister of Duke Adolphus Frederick IV, married King George III in 1761, thus becoming queen consort of Great Britain. Her niece Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, daughter of Duke Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, married Frederick William III of Hohenzollern in 1793 and became queen consort of Prussia in 1797.

Mecklenburg-Strelitz adopted the constitution of the sister duchy in September 1755. In 1806 it was spared the infliction of a French occupation through the good offices of the king of Bavaria.¹ In 1808 its duke, Charles (d. 1816), joined the Confederation of the Rhine, but in 1813 he withdrew from it. The Congress of Vienna recognized both Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Mecklenburg-Schwerin as grand duchies and members of the German Confederation.

Frederick William (17 October 1819 – 30 May 1904) was a German sovereign who ruled over the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz as Grand Duke from 1860 until his death.

He was born in Neustrelitz, the son of Grand Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel. He spent his youth in Neustrelitz and later went to study history and jurisprudence in Bonn. After finishing his studies, he went travelling to Italy and Switzerland. He became a Doctor of Civil Law of the University of Oxford.

Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded as Grand Duke on the death of his father on 6 September 1860. During his reign, Mecklenburg-Strelitz became a member first of the North German Confederation and then the German Empire. Friedrich Wilhelm was a large land owner with more than half of the entire grand duchy, his personal property.

On 12 August 1862, Friedrich Wilhelm was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

He died at Neustrelitz on 30 May 1904 and was succeeded by his only son, who became Adolf Friedrich V.

Friedrich Wilhelm was married on 28 June 1843 at Buckingham Palace to his first cousin, Princess Augusta of Cambridge, a member of the British Royal Family and a granddaughter of King George III. The two were also second cousins on their fathers' side. They had two sons:   

Friedrich Wilhelm and his wife Augusta celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary by distributing 25 Pfennig from the public treasury to every citizen of the grand duchy.