Definition

• A nickname given to a series of coins of debased silver and gold issued by Frederick the Great in Saxony from 1753 to 1756, during the Seven Year's War.

  The King appointed a merchant named Itzig Ephraim as mint-master and he caused these coins to be struck from dies of the year 1753 found in Leipzig. They consisted principally of the August d'Or (q.v.) and pieces of eight and four Groschen in silver, and they were so debased that they contained two thirds or more of base metal allow. They were gradually withdrawn from circulation after the peace of 1763.

Source

• Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)

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