Owner Comments:
In the morning, King Ludwig lay in bed for a long while and tried remembering the many events that occurred the night before. Pain throbbed in his temples, soreness sat in his throat, and a strange metallic taste permeated his dry mouth. “Damn Spanish wine, (a gift from the King of Spain for Ludwig’s birthday), shouldn’t have drunk so much of it… At least the royal ball went well, for there was much merriment and cause for mystery as to how I ended up in my room this morning!” He resolved to ask his wife Theresa, and then remembered – “I have the feeling that she is upset with me, for it seems that I may have danced with a certain dame… or two… can’t remember any of it.” Sighing, the King staggered out of the bed and made his way to clean himself up before breakfast.
At breakfast, together they sat in an uncomfortable silence. King Ludwig would guiltily glance at his wife from time to time and absentmindedly pick at the food on his plate, yet Theresa stayed quiet and solemnly refused to look at her spouse. In his mind, Ludwig was coming to all sorts of conclusions: “Looks like it’s time to buy precious jeweled ring again…or even necklace ” Upon considering the cost to his Royal Treasury that another gift to his wife would claim, Ludwig suddenly started at noticing his wife’s eyes locked with his. With an air of disappointment, Theresa began, “How many more times, Your Majesty, should I tolerate your irresponsible antics? When we married, you assured me – no, you promised me – that you’d be mine and only mine, and would carry me in your arms. And now, you don’t even look at me for the whole night; not a single dance, not even a single glance!” Ludwig lowers his head, and uncomfortably responds, “My dear wife, please explain to me… whom could I have been looking at, if not you?”
Theresa’s eyes flashed – “I know not at whom you were looking. Your Majesty was too busy going around and bestowing the new Order of His Highness King Ludwig, or however you called it, to the men that you were drinking with! The Order of Ludwig! Or your Grace was too interested in constant flirtation with all those girls you surrounded yourself with, who have completely lost any shame they once had, not to mention honor! I always think, does our kingdom not have any mild-mannered, faithful girls, that honor themselves and don’t flirt with married men, even if it’s the King himself?!” Theresa rose, with anger in her face and lightning in her eyes. “Perhaps I’ll do as you have done, Your Highness, and will bestow an Order for every good-natured girl in our kingdom. I might even call it the Order of Theresa, the poor deceived wife who must bear the drunken escapades of her self-absorbed husband. Unlike your Order of Ludwig, that you were so generously giving out right and left in your inebriation; my Order will glorify clean lifestyles and will honor the pious, good-hearted women of the kingdom of Bavaria. Of course these recipients will be unmarried women of significant social stature – they must attend church and lead exclusively Puritan ways of life – as I myself pleasure in doing. Everything I do, I do to be an example for those that I represent. I have birthed heirs for us; I have raised them, and try to be the ideal wife for Your Highness and Queen for Your people – but you! Your drunken foolishness! Your female admirers!” – With her face in her hands, Theresa began to weep.
“Well, that didn’t go so well…” thought Ludwig. He approached her, embraced her tightly and looked into her eyes: “Forgive me, my love! There isn’t a single woman in this entire kingdom that is worth more to me than you are. All of our kingdom isn’t worth a single tear from your beautiful eyes! I assure you – no, I promise you – that henceforth I will be with you, and will only breathe and live for you alone.” His voice trembled. It seemed that he himself was beginning to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Your desires are law for me! If you want an Order, then today an Order of Theresa will be specially excised for you – what a fantastic, royal name! To award this to the pious women of the land, I shall immediately sign a decree for 100 – no, 300 guldens for each woman you deem worthy of your prestigious Order! I have even thought of a name to bestow upon these honorable recipients – we shall call them “Ehrendame” before the entire royal court!”.
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The Order of Theresa is still continues to exist today as an noble society for the ladies from House of Wittelsbach and other aristocratic families in Bavaria. Queen Theresa originally determined eligibility for the ladies to be a christian, born under the Law of Church and non-married. She personally choose first twelve cavaliers of the Order and established an annual pension for each of them as well as the title of “Ehrendame” or “Dame of Honour”. The Order should be worn on the left breast and consist of a blue Maltese Cross with a white edge and a gold royal crown above. At the centre there is a gold bordered white medallion with the letter T. On the back there is an year (1827) as well as the motto: “Unser Leben sey Glaube an das Ewige” (Our life is faith forever). There are some Dames of Honour still living today such as the Princess of Liechtenstein, for example.
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German Talers since 1800 by John S. Davenport.
Bavaria, King Ludwig Series (1825 - 1848).
Taler 1827, ORDER OF THERESE.
Davenport 561, KM 733, Thun 54, AKS 119, J.36.
Commemoration of the founding of the Order of Therese by the Queen.
Obverse: Head fo Ludwig to the right, LUDWIG I KOENIG VON BAYERN. ZEHN EINE FEINE MARK.
Reverse: DIE KOENIGIN VON BAYERN STIFTET DEN THERESIEN ORDEN, the letter T in a wreath on Cross, 1827 below.
28.0600 g., 0.83300 Silver, 0.7515 oz. ASW.
NGC MS 63+.
Definitely deserves "+" tier for the appearance - this Commemorative Thaler of Ludwig I of Bavaria shows reflective fields with touch of golden toning, slightly patchy on obverse as well as sharp uncirculated details. Single contact marks appreciated in the fields. Theresian Order - great collectible and high quality item!!