Frederick August I converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism in 1697 — a deeply unpopular move in staunchly Protestant Saxony — solely to satisfy the requirement for election as King of Poland. The coronation coinage issued that year thus commemorates not merely a dynastic promotion but a calculated religious apostasy. Saxony's own court had to be managed carefully; the Elector's conversion was kept secret until just weeks before the Polish Sejm vote.
The Kahnt attribution places this among a small group of documented die pairings for the coronation series.
Frederick August I converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism in 1697 — a deeply unpopular move in staunchly Protestant Saxony — solely to satisfy the requirement for election as King of Poland. The coronation coinage issued that year thus commemorates not merely a dynastic promotion but a calculated religious apostasy. Saxony's own court had to be managed carefully; the Elector's conversion was kept secret until just weeks before the Polish Sejm vote.
The Kahnt attribution places this among a small group of documented die pairings for the coronation series.