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1 Spitzgroschen - August I
| Issuer | Saxony (Albertinian Line), Electorate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1553-1555 |
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| Value | 1 Groschen = 1⁄24 Thaler |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the ducal Saxon arms — a quartered shield with barry and rampant lion — set within a pointed trilobe or Gothic cusped frame, itself enclosed within a beaded inner circle. Pellets flank the upper apex of the trilobe in place of the customary stars. A circular Latin legend surrounding the inner circle carries the titles and name of Elector August I of Saxony. The overall style is characteristic of mid-sixteenth-century Saxon hammered coinage. |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Spitzgroschen denomination takes its name from the pointed oval shield — *Spitz* meaning pointed — that dominated Saxon groschen coinage in the mid-sixteenth century. August I came to power in 1553 following the humiliation of his brother Moritz, whose military gamble against Emperor Charles V had ended in Moritz's death at Sievershausen that same year. August inherited both the electorate and the task of stabilizing Saxon finances after years of costly warfare.
Keil/Kahnt 104 is a well-documented type with modest die variety, though attribution between the 1553 and 1555 production years requires close attention to the mintmaster's mark.