1/12 Thaler Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1352-1918) Billon

1754, Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Duchy), Christian Ludwig II. Billon 1/12 Thaler Coin.

Mint Year: 1754

Reference: KM-177.

Denomination: 1/12 Thaler


Material: Billon (low-grade silver alloy)

Diameter: 23mm

Weight: 2.33gm

The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (German: Herzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin) was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting House of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire along the Baltic Sea littoral between Holstein-Glückstadt and the Duchy of Pomerania.

Christian Ludwig II (15 May 1683 – 30 May 1756) was the duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1747 to 1756. He was the son of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow, and Landravine Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin began its existence during a series of constitutional struggles between the duke and the nobles. The heavy debt incurred by Charles Leopold, who had joined Russian Empire in a war against Sweden, brought matters to a head; Charles VI interfered, and in 1728 the imperial court of justice declared the duke incapable of governing. His brother, Christian Ludwig II, was appointed administrator of the duchy. Under this prince, who became ruler de jure in 1747, the Convention of Rostock, by which a new constitution was framed for the duchy, was signed in April 1755. By this instrument, all power lay in the hands of the duke, the nobles, and the upper classes generally; the lower classes were entirely unrepresented.