WEISS COLLECTION

	ACCESSION OF FREDERICK III OF DENMARK PEACE OF WESTPHALIA DADLER, Sebastian: Denmark, 1648, Silver, 48 x 58 mm Obv: Bust of Frederick III within an ornate wreath FRIDERICUS III. D.[ei] G.[ratia] DAN.[iae] NORW.[egiae] GOT.[horum] VAND.[alorum] REX. DUX. SL.[esvici] HOLS[a]T.[iae] DIT.[marsiae] COM.[es] IN OLD.[emburg] & DELM.[enhorst]. Rev: Within a halo, Peace seated with leg on globe. In her right hand she is holding the shield of the sun, and in her left hand an olive branch and an open book with the inscription DAS HOHES TE GUTH. (The Greatest Good [The Bible]). Around: SEHT WIE DER FRIED IEZ ZIERT DIE WELT, DA FRIDRICH KROHN UND SCEPTER HELT: (Look How Peace Now Adorns the World When Frederick Holds the Crown and Scepter) Signed: SD Very Rare Ref: Wiecek 123; Pax in Nummis 924; Galster 80; Europese Penningen # 1076; Maué 72; Weiss BW030 Frederick III (1609-1670), King of Denmark and Norway (1648-1670), was the son and successor of Christian IV. This medal commemorates the accession of Frederick III to the throne in 1648. It also commemorates the treaty establishing the Peace of Westphalia (1648), one of the most important and far reaching treaties in European history. It was actually a series of treaties, begun in 1642, held in cities of Westphalia (a province of Prussia, Germany), among the states involved in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). The peace established the virtual autonomy of the German states, created equality between Protestants and Catholics, and diminished the authority of the Holy Roman Empire. It also established the ascendancy of France and the Netherlands, increased the power of Sweden in northern Europe and led to the decline of Spain. The Treaty of Westphalia was passed and concluded at Munster in Westphalia, the 24th Day of October, 1648. LINK to Frederick III of Denmark (from wikipedia) For more on the Peace of Westphalia, see World History by Alexander Ganse. The Treaty of Westphalia itself can be found at the Link to the Avalon Project at Yale Law School. HOME PAGE