BRUNSWICK-LUNEBURG-CELLE

The Brunswick line that would eventually lead to the House of Hanover was that of Bernard, one of the three sons of Duke Magnus II who had jointly ruled a united Duchy of Brunswick since 1388, but who partitioned the territory in 1428 and 1432. Bernard received the territory of Lüneburg, whose principal town was Celle.

In 1569, Lüneburg was divided between Henry III (line of Dannenberg) and William VI (line of Lüneburg-Celle), the sons of Ernest the Confessor, Bernard's great-great-grandson. A distant cousin of the line of Lüneburg, Frederick Ulrich, who ruled the territories of Wolfenbüttel and Calenberg, died in 1634. After some dispute, his territories were divided in 1635 between the Dannenberg and Celle branches of the Lüneburg line. Henry III's son Augustus became Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his descendants eventually ruled the Duchy of Brunswick.

William's first four sons ruled Lüneburg-Celle in sequence from their father's death in 1592 to 1648. The fifth son, George received the territories of Calenberg and Göttingen in 1635. In 1636 he moved the seat of the Dukes of Calenberg from Pattensen to the town of Hanover in the Calenberg territory. This was the nucleus of the state of Hanover, though the territory would have to wait until 1814 before receiving "Hanover" as its official name.

In 1648 the Duke of Calenberg inherited Celle from his uncle Frederick, the last survivor of William's five sons. From 1648 to 1705, Celle (the larger territory) was held by the senior of the Celle line, and Calenberg by the next junior.In 1692 the Emperor promised to raise the Duke of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg to the rank of Elector. This promotion did not become effective until it was recognized by the Imperial Diet in 1708, ten years after Ernest Augustus' death. In the meantime, his son, George Louis, inherited Celle from his uncle in 1705, doubling Hanover's size.

Key identification notes: The GW monogram on later coins; Only the period from 1698-1705 might have confusing overlap with Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenburg-Hanover since both were ruled by a George and both can show the leaping horse as a main design feature, check closely for a "JJJ" mintmaster's mark to confirm Celle's minting of later coins.

2 Mariengroschen