Albert II of Saxe-Eisenach died in 1645 after ruling for less than a decade, leaving no male heirs — the duchy reverted to Saxe-Weimar under the terms of the Ernestine inheritance agreements that fragmented Thuringia among the proliferating branches of the Wettin dynasty. Death thalers of this type were struck not as circulation coinage but as commemorative pieces distributed at funeral ceremonies, a practice deeply embedded in German Protestant court culture of the seventeenth century.
The short administrative life of Saxe-Eisenach as a distinct entity makes its coinage scarce by definition. Schnee 397 is the primary reference for this type.
Albert II of Saxe-Eisenach died in 1645 after ruling for less than a decade, leaving no male heirs — the duchy reverted to Saxe-Weimar under the terms of the Ernestine inheritance agreements that fragmented Thuringia among the proliferating branches of the Wettin dynasty. Death thalers of this type were struck not as circulation coinage but as commemorative pieces distributed at funeral ceremonies, a practice deeply embedded in German Protestant court culture of the seventeenth century.
The short administrative life of Saxe-Eisenach as a distinct entity makes its coinage scarce by definition. Schnee 397 is the primary reference for this type.