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4 Thalers - Ernest August of Osnabrück
| Issuer | Brunswick-Lüneburg-Calenberg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1680 |
| Type | Commemorative circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | An elaborate allegorical composition in the baroque tradition fills the field: at centre, a large spoked wheel partially submerged in turbulent waves serves as the focal motif, flanked by figures being carried along by the flood. To the left rises a tall palm tree bending in the storm, while to the right a rocky coastal cliff and ruins are visible; in the middle distance a sailing vessel navigates the open sea. Above all, a radiant sun with a human face shines from the upper centre, with wind-blown clouds to either side, conveying the motto's meaning of constancy amid adversity. The Latin legend VARIIS IN MOTIBUS EADEM ('the same amid various agitations') arcs across the upper field, and the date 1680 with mint marks R and B appears in the exergue. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Ernest August became Bishop of Osnabrück in 1661 under the terms of the Westphalian settlement, which had imposed alternating Catholic and Lutheran bishops on the diocese as a compromise solution — making him a Protestant ruler of a nominally ecclesiastical territory. This 4-Thaler piece belongs to a category of large-format silver multiples struck less for commerce than for diplomatic gifting and court display; no meaningful quantity ever changed hands in a market.
The Calenberg line's finances in this period were bolstered substantially by the hiring out of troops to foreign powers, and the resulting bullion gave Ernest August the means to commission exactly this kind of showpiece. He would later become the first Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg to be elevated to Elector, in 1692.