1 Thaler - John George I

John George I assumed the Saxon electorship in 1611 and would go on to become one of the most consequential — and most criticized — Protestant princes of the Thirty Years' War, ultimately siding with the Habsburgs at war's outbreak before eventually switching allegiances. This 1616 piece predates that conflict by two years, struck when the Electoral treasury was still flush and Saxon silver output from the Erzgebirge mines was near its peak productive capacity.

Davenport ST#7589 distinguishes this as a standard taler of the type rather than one of the presentation-quality klippe or multiple-taler formats John George commissioned in considerable numbers throughout his reign.