1⁄48 Thaler - Frederick III

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was one of the more administratively coherent of the Ernestine Saxon duchies by the mid-eighteenth century, though its coinage at fractional denominations was largely a concession to everyday commerce rather than dynastic prestige. The 1/48 Thaler — a Scheidemünze in all but official designation — circulated hard in a small territory where larger silver rarely changed hands at street level.

Frederick III's reign saw the duchy's finances strained partly by the aftershocks of the Seven Years' War, which had ended just four years before this type began production. The five-year striking window for KM#320 suggests steady if modest demand.