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1 Thaler - John Frederick II, John William and John Frederick III
| Issuer | Saxony (Ernestinian Line), Electorate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1551-1552 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse lettering | MONE FILIOR IOH FRID SENIORIS DV SAX 1551 (Translation: Coinage of the sons of John Frederick the Elder, duke of Saxony.) |
| Reverse description | Draped and armored bust of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V facing right, wearing an imperial crown, with a scepter resting over his right shoulder. The imperial titles are arranged in a continuous legend encircling the portrait. The effigy is rendered in the formal Renaissance portrait style typical of mid-sixteenth-century German thalers, with strong relief and detailed drapery at the shoulder. The field is plain, focusing attention on the imperial portrait. |
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| Additional information |
John Frederick II issued this thaler as co-ruler with his brothers following the catastrophic aftermath of the Schmalkaldic War. Their father, John Frederick the Magnanimous, had lost the Saxon electorate entirely to the Albertine branch at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547 — stripped of rank, territory, and the electoral dignity itself. The Ernestine line was reduced to rump holdings in Thuringia, and these joint-reign thalers document exactly that moment of dynastic contraction.
John Frederick II would later be imprisoned by Emperor Maximilian II in 1567 for sheltering the renegade knight Wilhelm von Grumbach — a confinement that lasted until his death in 1595.