Skip to main content

Reply to Hesse-Engelburg

To: Herr Ludwig Von Strasser, Social Secretary for Thursdays
Hesse-Engelburg


February 24, 1768

My Dear Herr Von Strasser,

Thank you for your correspondence of late and curiosity about financial and economic matters in The Grand Duchy of Stollen.

The currency of The Grand Duchy is the Silver Mark, tied closely to the currency in neighboring Prussia. The breakdown of currency sub-units looks like this:

1 Silver Mark =
14 Thaler =
24 Groschen (3 Polish Gulden) =
60 Schillings =
360 Pfennigs;
1 Groschen =
3 Schillings =
18 Pfennigs;
1 Schilling = 6 Pfennigs.

Although there are some minor differences in the Electorate of Zichenau, the arch enemy of our own Stollen, there is largely a one-to-one parity between the two currencies.

The economies of Stollen and Zichenau are primarily agrarian (corn, grain, sugar beets, cabbage, and the recently introduced potato) with some timber and small cottage industries.

Much like neighboring Prussia, Stollen has a respectable horse breeding industry. The Trakehner breed features prominently here and is widely recognized throughout mcuh of Eastern and Central Europe.

Our larger towns contain a smattering of foreign merchants, mostly from the North German territories and the Low Countries, but frankly speaking, Stollen and its immediate surroundings are something of an economic and mercantile backwater with regard to more prominent centers of trade like Brugge, Antwerp, Riga, Koenigsburg, or Danzig for example.

A historically disputed region, The Mark of Oessel, lies between Stollen (to the north) and Zichenau (to the south), containing several small coal, iron, and tin mines. Periodically, these have been the object of minor diplomatic disputes between Stollen and Zichenau, although the two countries have never gone to war over the mines, preferring to battle each other over things like kidnapped princesses (some suggest runaway), misplaced but presumed stolen and later found crown jewels, and a host of other slights, either real or imagined.

I trust this short summary reaches you in good stead and answers your immediate trade questions and concerns.

Sincerely,

Johannes P. Flickenhoffer
Personal Assistant to Grand Duke Irwin Amadeus II

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Eventual Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment. . .

  The Anhalt-Zerbst regiment musters in the drill square to sort themselves into platoons and companies during the coming weeks  Fall maneuvers if you will. A large dose of real life the last few days with the start of classes next Monday, various preparatory meetings, and finishing up a few other things this week.  But, I managed to sort out 60 or so Minden Austrian infantry from the pile and get 'em stuck to temporary painting bases.  Must carefully drill out the hands of several NCOs for flagpoles and pole arms this weekend before the usual basecoat.   I'm thinking of mixing the usual white gesso with the usual light gray to kill two birds with one stone so to speak.  Applying both base- and undercoat in one fell swoop as my grandmother used to say. In the meantime, the recently finished squadron of Saxon cuirassiers has been placed carefully in one of the clear acrylic boxes on my shelves until I have the suitable flag to affix.   -- Sto...

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

And It's the End of September!!!

  Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November.  With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important,  I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...