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1/8 Thaler - John George I
| Issuer | Electorate of Saxony (Albertinian Line) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1623-1624 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Saxon electoral coat of arms, a complex quartered shield combining the arms of Saxony, Thuringia, Meissen, and associated territories, surmounted by an electoral bonnet and flanked by two rampant lions as supporters. The date (1623 or 1624) appears in the upper field to either side of the shield. The surrounding legend S.R.I. ARCHIM. ET ELECT. proclaims the elector's dignity as Archchancellor and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. A swan mintmark, the symbol of the Dresden Mint, appears within or adjacent to the legend as the mint identifier. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
John George I issued this fractional thaler during the opening years of the Thirty Years' War, a conflict in which Saxony occupied a notoriously ambivalent position — nominally Protestant yet slow to commit against the Habsburg emperor, a stance that earned John George the contempt of more zealous reformers. The Saxon mints were nonetheless kept busy: wartime monetary disruption across the German states, particularly the Kipper- und Wipperzeit currency debasement crisis that peaked around 1621–1623, created urgent demand for reliable silver fractional coinage as debased coppers flooded everyday commerce.
The 1623–1624 date span suggests production across the Dresden and possibly Colditz mint operations during a period of active monetary reform in the electorate.