2 Thalers - John Philip I, Frederick VIII, John William IV, and Frederick William II

The four-ruler obverse of this issue reflects the joint governance structure of Saxe-Altenburg following the 1603 partition of Ernestine Saxony, which fractured ducal authority among brothers ruling in uneasy confederation. The years 1622–1625 fell squarely within the early devastation of the Thirty Years' War, when silver coinage of substantial weight was being hoarded, melted, or exported across the Empire as the Kipper und Wipper currency crisis debased smaller denominations beyond practical use. Heavy double thalers paradoxically survived in better numbers than contemporary minor coinage precisely because holders refused to spend them.

Frederick William II died in 1625, effectively ending this specific four-prince configuration.