1/4 Thaler - Frederick August I Huldigung

Frederick August I extracted the Saxon electoral throne in 1694 following the death of his brother Johann Georg IV, who left no legitimate heir. The Huldigung coinage — struck to mark the formal oath of homage rendered by Saxon estates to a new ruler — was a well-established ceremonial tradition in the electorate, and this quarter thaler belongs to that series. Within four years of this issue, Frederick August had converted to Catholicism to secure the Polish crown, a decision that permanently altered the religious politics of the electorate.