2 Ducats - Francis Josias Silver pattern strike, Death of Christian Ernest

Christian Ernest of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld died in 1745 after a reign of just three years, having succeeded his father Johann Ernst at a moment when the small duchy was already financially strained by its obligations under the Holy Roman Empire. This piece was struck as a pattern in silver rather than gold — a cost-saving substitution that was not uncommon for minor German courts issuing memorial coinages they lacked the treasury to produce properly in the intended metal.

Francis Josias, who commissioned the issue, would himself die the following year, leaving the ducal line in further dynastic flux.