1 Groschen - August Death

Saxe-Weissenfels was created in 1657 when Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony divided his territories among his sons — a dynastic habit that splintered the Wettin holdings into a proliferation of tiny duchies, most of which lasted only a generation or two before reverting to the electorate. August, the first Duke, died in 1680, making this 1669 issue a mid-reign piece rather than a death memorial despite the catalog designation. "Death" groschen of this type were struck as mourning coins upon a ruler's passing, and later issues in this series would serve exactly that function.