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1/4 Ducat - Frederick I
| Issuer | Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1682-1684 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | KM#30, Fr#2966, Steguweit#51 |
| Obverse description | Draped bust of Duke Frederick I facing right, depicted with a voluminous curled wig in the baroque style, armored shoulders partially visible beneath the drapery. The effigy is rendered in high relief with fine detail. The Latin legend runs along the periphery of the field, reading FRIDERIC D G D S I C ET MONT, abbreviated for his full ducal titles. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned oval coat of arms of Saxony — the rayed escutcheon divided by a diagonal bend — set within elaborate baroque cartouche with foliate scrollwork. The mint master's initials I G W and the date 1684 are distributed in the field flanking the shield, with the denomination fraction 1/4 indicated at the base of the cartouche. |
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| Additional information |
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was itself a product of the catastrophic fragmentation following the Thirty Years' War, carved out of the Ernestine inheritance in 1672 when Frederick I received his share of the divided duchy. This quarter ducat dates to a reign that lasted barely a decade before Frederick's death in 1691, and the tiny striking weight reflects the period's chronic shortage of gold specie in the Thuringian states — fractions this small were minted precisely because whole ducats were too valuable for most transactions.