3 Thalers - Ernest August Harz - Ausbeute

Ernest August became Bishop of Osnabrück in 1661 and would not acquire Calenberg itself until 1679, making this 1681 issue one of his earliest struck under that authority. The "Ausbeute" designation marks it as a mining production piece — coins struck directly from silver extracted from the Harz mountain mines, a practice the Brunswick dukes used deliberately to advertise the productivity of their mineral rights. Harz Ausbeute issues were presentation objects as much as currency, and triple-thaler strikes were never intended for ordinary commerce.

Ernest August's political maneuvering during this period was relentless; he spent much of the 1680s lobbying Emperor Leopold I for electoral status, finally granted in 1692.