Rudolph August had ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel alone since 1666, but in 1685 he invited his younger brother Anthony Ulrich into co-regency — partly from exhaustion with administrative duties, partly because Anthony Ulrich's political ambitions had become impossible to contain. The arrangement was uneasy; Anthony Ulrich was the more capable ruler and both men knew it. Coins struck under the joint reign carry both names and span 1685 until Rudolph August's death in 1704, making this a relatively narrow window of issue.
Rudolph August had ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel alone since 1666, but in 1685 he invited his younger brother Anthony Ulrich into co-regency — partly from exhaustion with administrative duties, partly because Anthony Ulrich's political ambitions had become impossible to contain. The arrangement was uneasy; Anthony Ulrich was the more capable ruler and both men knew it. Coins struck under the joint reign carry both names and span 1685 until Rudolph August's death in 1704, making this a relatively narrow window of issue.