History
The County of Waldeck was established in the 13th century. These counts inherited Pyrmont in 1625, and ruled it in personal union until it officially became a single entity in 1848. In 1712 it was raised to a principality within the Holy Roman Empire.
Locations of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 19th century Germany. Pyrmont (FW) was a tiny territory that bordered Lippe-Detmold (LD) and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Waldeck was sandwiched between Hesse-Cassel and Prussia's western provinces.
During the Napoleonic Wars Pyrmont was briefly separated from Waldeck but returned in 1812. After this the principality was a member of the German Confederation until 1866, North German Confederation until 1871 and German Empire until 1918. The princes outsourced the administration of this small state to Prussia in 1868, but retained their seats in the Reichstag. Eventually in 1929 Waldeck-Pyrmont was fully absorbed in Prussia's western provinces. After World War 2 these were reorganised into the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia.
Currency
Waldeck-Pyrmont had a monetary system that was similar to that of neighbouring Brunswick, with 1 Thaler = 24 Groschen = 36 Mariengroschen = 288 Pfennige. In 1754 it joined the Vienna Convention in which a Conventionsthaler was worth 1/10 of a Cologne Mark (233.86 grams) or 1⅓ of an ordinary Thaler.
In 1838 Waldeck-Pyrmont joined a Prussian-led monetary union whereby a Thaler was worth 1/14 of a Cologne Mark. The subunits now also followed Prussia, with a Thaler equal to 30 Silbergroschen each of 12 Pfennige. Following the unification of Germany in 1871 the Mark replaced the Thaler at a rate of 3 Mark = 1 Thaler in 1873. After this only a low number of higher denominations were struck for Lippe. All Waldeck-Pyrmont coinage from 1838 onwards was produced at the Hanover mint with mint letter
Next to a few coins of its own it is quite likely that a lot of coins from neighbouring German states were used alongside.Catalogue
County of Waldeck (1200's-1719):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/waldeck_county-1.html
Principality of Waldeck (1719-1848):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/waldeck__principality-1.html
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1848-1918):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/waldeck_pyrmont_principality-1.html
Actually, why above two have been split into two separate issuers goes beyond me. Pyrmont never had coins of its own and the name change in 1848 only reflected a small political change.
