2 Vereinsthaler - John

The Vereinsthaler — literally "union thaler" — was the product of the Vienna Coinage Treaty of 1857, which unified the monetary systems of the German states and Austria into a single silver standard. Saxony, as one of the larger and more economically active German kingdoms, was an early and committed participant. The 2 Vereinsthaler denomination was the treaty's prestige issue, struck in .900 fine silver and accepted at face across all signatory states.

John of Saxony had ascended the throne in 1854 following the abdication of his brother Frederick Augustus II's successor. He was a serious scholar — his Italian translation of Dante's *Commedia*, published under the pseudonym Philalethes, remains respected. The coins of his reign are few enough in type that each issue carries weight as a document of his abbreviated but culturally significant kingship.