Germany, States Eichstätt 1 Thaler 1781

History

Obverse. Photo © Heritage Auctions

Description

The Bishopric of Eichstätt, or Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt, was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Centered on the town of Eichstätt, it was located in the present-day state of Bavaria, somewhat to the west of Regensburg, to the north of Neuburg an der Donau and Ingolstadt, to the south of Nuremberg, and to the southeast of Ansbach.

The Diocese of Eichstätt was established in 741, when the Anglo-Saxon missionary Willibald was consecrated to the episcopate by Saint Boniface and turned to the church of Eichstätt in the German stem duchy of Bavaria. His successors achieved the status of a Prince-Bishop, when they inherited the Franconian territories of their former Vogt officials, the extinct Counts of Hirschberg. In reaction to the Protestant Reformation, Eichstätt joined the Catholic League in 1617.

In the course of the 1802 German mediatization following the French Revolutionary Wars, the bishopric was secularized and was in 1803, along with the Archbishopric of Salzburg, given in compensation to Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine. Three years later, following Austria's defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz, the area was given to the Kingdom of Bavaria according to the Treaty of Pressburg.

Engravers: Riedner, Johann L. Oexlein

Obverse	Coat of arms German State 13 oval arms form circle with 3 shields of arms and date within an ornate frame at center. Struck after the death of Raimund Anton. Sede vacante in the canon law of the Catholic Church is the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church and especially that of the papacy. It is Latin for "[with] the seat being vacant", the seat in question being the bishop's throne of the particular church. CAPITULUM REGNANS SEDE VACANTE. K. R. 1781 10 EINE FEINE MARCK.
Reverse	Person (religious figure) Walpurga, Willibald Symbol, amulet, talisman Eye of Providence Eye of Providence above view of the city within the baroque frame with arms of the bishopric in center flanked by Saints Willibald and Walburga seated on clouds, urns to left and right labeled S. WIL and S. WAL. The Eye of Providence (or the all-seeing eye of God) is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle. It represents the eye of God watching over humanity (or divine providence). Saint Willibald (born in Wessex c.700 and died c.787 in Eichstätt) was an 8th-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. His brother was Saint Winibald and his sister was Saint Walburga. Saint Walpurga or Walburga (c. AD 710 – 25 February 777 or 779), also spelled Valderburg or Guibor, was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May ca. 870 by Pope Adrian II. Walpurgis Night (or "Walpurgisnacht") is the name for the eve of her day, which coincides with May Day. HAC SVB TVTELA S. WIL S. WAL TVTA CIVITAS EYSTETT OE
Edge	Decorated Leaf security edge.