World coins chat: German States - Hohenzollern

Hohenzollern was a county and later principality of the Holy Roman Empire located between Baden and Württemberg in the German region of Swabia. It was the ancestral land of the House of Hohenzollern who through their Franconian and Brandenburg branches became kings of Prussia and emperors of Germany. The Swabian part of Hohenzollern was ruled by its own branch until 1850 when it was incorporated into Prussia.

The son of the last prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen became the first king of modern Romania in 1881 after having been prince since 1866.


Flag of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The symbols and colours show the common ancestry with the Prussian monarchy.

History
Hohenzollern was initially known as the County of Zollern. It was first mentioned in 1061. Around 1200 Count Frederick received the Landgraviate of Nuremberg through marriage and divided his estates among two sons, one of which continued the Swabian branch and the other the Franconian branch. The latter branch would receive Brandenburg in 1364 and through successive generations they became kings of Prussia from 1701 and emperors of Germany from 1871.

The Swabian branch was perhaps a bit less ambitious. Hohenzollern was divided between Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen in 1576 and both were raised to principalities during the Thirty Years' War in 1623. During that war the area was the scene of bloody battles between protestant Württemberg and catholic Bavaria. In contrast to Prussia which was protestant, Hohenzollern always remained catholic.


Hohenzollern was located between Baden and Württemberg in south west Germany.

The princes ruled over a relatively small area and word has it they were often short of money due to their luxurious lifestyle. In the 18th century the princes made agreements with their far cousins from Prussia which was mostly driven by mutual security interests. Despite this, the Hohenzollern principalities were allied to France during the Napoleonic era.

Both Hohenzollern states joined the German Confederation in 1815 but their monarchies only lasted for a few more decades. During the revolutions of 1848 one prince abdicated and the other fled. A Prussian intervention in 1850 led to Hohenzollern becoming a Prussian province. The area was incorporated into Baden-Württemberg after WW2.

Currency and coins
The Hohenzollern principalities' money situation was mostly influenced by that of neighbouring state Württemberg. By the 18th century Hohenzollern used the Gulden divided in 60 Kreuzer. The Reichsthaler was worth 90 Kreuzer and after 1754 the Conventionsthaler was worth 144 Kreuzer. The gold Carolin was worth 10 Gulden.

In 1838 Hohenzollern joined its neighbouring states in adopting the South German Gulden. Coins were produced in this standard even after Prussia annexed the territories in 1850, as the Prussian Thaler, which was valued at 105 Kreuzer, was not practical within the South German Gulden system. The lower denomination coins fearured the coat of arms, the higher ones the portrait of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, father of Germany's first Kaiser Wilhelm I. Hohenzollern coins are very rare though.

Catalogue
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/hohenzollern_sigmaringen_principality-1.html

Hohenzollern-Hechingen
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/hohenzollern_hechingen_principality-1.html

Hohenzollern - Prussian province (1850-1871)
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/hohenzollern_prussia-1.html

And this is Hohenzollern Castle. The current version was built in the 19th century as a romantic impression of medieval times. So it's much newer than what people would expect.