Kingdom of Westphalia
Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon I’s brother, was King of Westphalia from 1807-1813. The Kingdom was created by Napoleon I from territories he had conquered. In October 1813, the Kingdom of Westphalia was dissolved and in 1815 the territory was absorbed into Prussia.
Two types of coinage were minted in the King of Westphalia: francs according to the decimalized French standard, and thalers under the non-decimilized local standard.
Circulation Coins
Certain images are clickable for more detail
Coins are either minted in Cassel, Westphalia (“C”) or in Paris (“J” mint mark). The mint quality is relatively low and even the top coins have notable imperfections. Mintage is low, about 5k for the 40 franken, 40k for the 20 franken, 2k for the 10 franken, and 2k for the gold 5 franken. Mintage data for the silver denominations is unavailable.
An excellent write-up on Jérôme and his coinage is La Moneta forum by the user lorluke (here).
Restrikes exist for the 5, 10, and 20 franken coins. About 80 restrikes were minted in 1867 (see Gadoury 2023, p. 679). Restrikes have the “J” mint mark and smooth edges.
40 Franken
1813
(Image: Gadoury Oct 2023)
20 Franken
1808-1813
(Image: MDC Oct 2023)
10 Franken
5 Franken
5 Franken
2 Franken
1 Franken
1/2 Franken
Restrikes and Pattern Coins
[Placeholder for discussion on restrikes.]