August II — Frederick Augustus I of Saxony — converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism in June 1697, a politically calculated move required to secure the Polish crown. The conversion was deeply unpopular among his Saxon subjects, and this taler was struck the same year he was elected King of Poland, when the Dresden mint was operating at high volume to fund both his electoral ambitions and the substantial bribes paid to Polish nobles securing his election.
The Dresden mint's output in 1697 was exceptional by any measure. Kopicki 11139 distinguishes this emission within a crowded field of August II talers that can otherwise be difficult to attribute without reference.
August II — Frederick Augustus I of Saxony — converted from Lutheranism to Catholicism in June 1697, a politically calculated move required to secure the Polish crown. The conversion was deeply unpopular among his Saxon subjects, and this taler was struck the same year he was elected King of Poland, when the Dresden mint was operating at high volume to fund both his electoral ambitions and the substantial bribes paid to Polish nobles securing his election.
The Dresden mint's output in 1697 was exceptional by any measure. Kopicki 11139 distinguishes this emission within a crowded field of August II talers that can otherwise be difficult to attribute without reference.