Flag of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
History
The area of Oldenburg was originally a part of the Duchy of Saxony as a semi-autonomous county located at the borderlands between Saxons and Frisians. In 1180 the Duchy of Saxony was dissolved as a result of a conflict between the Welf and Hohenstaufen dynasties, which the Hohenstaufens won, and as a result Oldenburg became a direct member state of the Holy Roman Empire.
Danish possession (1448-1773)
In 1448 Count Christian of Oldenburg became King of Denmark and the county remained in personal union with Denmark until 1773. In that year Russia and Denmark, whose royal houses both had dynastical possessions in Northern Germany, decided to swap Holstein-Gottorp for Oldenburg. A few years later, in 1777, the County of Oldenburg was upgraded to a duchy.
Duchy of Oldenburg (1777-1815)
In 1803 Oldenburg received the northern part of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster as part of the so-called Mediatisation which was a big reorganisation of the Holy Roman Empire. On top of this two exclaves were added: Lordship Birkenfeld in the Saar and Lordship Lübeck (excluding the city) in Holstein. A few years later, in 1810, France annexed Oldenburg. As the Duke of Oldenburg was directly related to the Russian royal family, this caused the end of the Franco-Russian alliance and indirectly led to Napoleon's disastrous campaign in Russia in 1812.
Oldenburg bordering the Kingdom of Hannover and the city of Bremen. The Lordship of Lübeck in Holstein and Birkenfeld in the Saar area were two exclaves of Oldenburg
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (1815-1918)
After Napoleon's defeat Oldenburg's territory was expanded with some exclaves and upgraded to a grand duchy within the German Confederation. The grand dukes were aligned with Prussia and joined the North German Confederation in 1866 and the German Empire in 1871. With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm after World War I in 1918 Grand Duke Frederick August of Oldenburg followed suit.
Currency and coins
Oldenburg started minting coins in the 14th century. The initial unit of account was 1 Mark = 10 Schillinge = 30 Groten = 120 Schware Pfennige, but soon the Schware was devalued to Grote = 5 Pfennige, similar to the situation in nearby Bremen.
In the 16th century the Thaler was introduced and its value stabilised at 72 Groten. From there on Oldenburg followed the Reichsthaler standards until the Napoleonic era. After 1815 Oldenburg aligned its Thaler to the Prussian one, which was based on the 14 Thaler per Cologne Mark (233.856 grams) silver standard. But contrary to Prussia Oldenburg retained the subdivisions of 72 Groten = 360 Schwaren until 1858. That year the Vereinsthaler (Union Thaler) was introduced setting the Thaler to 1/30 of a Metric Pound and divided in 30 Silbergroschen each of 12 Schwaren.
The German Mark replaced the Vereinsthaler at 3 Mark per Thaler in 1873. Oldenburg continued to mint a few higher denomination coins in its own name but in very low mintages.
Catalog
County of Oldenburg
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/oldenburg_county-1.html
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/oldenburg_grand_duchy-1.html
Lordship of Oldenburg-Birkenfeld
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/oldenburg_birkenfeld_principality-1.html
