2 Thalers - Ernest August Harz - Ausbeute - Löser

Ernest August became the first Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg to hold the title of Elector — a rank he lobbied the Habsburg court for aggressively through the 1680s and finally secured in 1692. These Ausbeute pieces were struck from silver raised directly in the Harz mining district, a practice that served the dual purpose of monetizing ore production and advertising the wealth of the territory to precisely the imperial audience Ernest August was courting. Löser-format pieces at this weight were never intended for circulation; they functioned as diplomatic gifts and display objects.

The Harz mines at Clausthal and Zellerfeld were among the most productive in Europe during this period, and their output underwrote Ernest August's considerable political ambitions.