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1/4 Thaler - John Ernest IV Bicentenary of the Reformation
| Issuer | Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1717 |
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| Value | 1/4 Thaler |
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| Obverse description | Armored bust of Duke John Ernest IV facing right, clad in articulated plate armor with a sash and chain order across the chest, holding a palm branch and a coat of arms in the right field. The date is encoded as a chronogram within the encircling Latin legend, which runs along a beaded inner border. The portrait is rendered in high relief in the baroque style typical of early eighteenth-century German coinage. |
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| Reverse description | Facing bust of Martin Luther, depicted in clerical robes and holding an open Bible inscribed with the motto V·D·M·I·AE, set against a plain field with the numerals 15 and 17 flanking the portrait to left and right respectively, alluding to the year 1517 of the posting of the Ninety-Five Theses. The encircling Latin legend runs along a beaded inner border, commemorating the bicentenary of the Lutheran Reformation. The portrait is boldly rendered in high relief in a robust baroque style. |
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| Additional information |
The 1717 Reformation bicentenary was one of the most politically charged commemorative moments in Lutheran Germany. Dozens of Protestant states issued medals and coins simultaneously, making the collective output of that year an unusually dense documentary record of which territories were asserting their confessional identity most loudly. Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld's participation placed the duchy firmly in that camp.
John Ernest IV was seventeen years old at the time of issue, ruling under regency.