1 Thaler - Erich III

Erich III of Brunswick-Calenberg — known as Erich the Younger — was a mercenary commander before he was a prince, having spent years selling his military services across the Italian peninsula. These thalers were struck during a period when his debts and political entanglements were severe enough that the coinage itself was partly a liquidity measure. He died in 1584 still deeply indebted, having mortgaged substantial territorial revenues to creditors in Augsburg and Antwerp.

The two-year span of this issue, 1563–1564, aligns with renewed pressure from the Imperial Chamber Court over Erich's financial obligations.