1/3 Thaler - Ernest August

Ernest August spent decades maneuvering for electoral dignity, and the elevation of Brunswick-Lüneburg to the ninth electorate of the Holy Roman Empire was finally granted by Emperor Leopold I in 1692 — just three years before this piece was struck. The move was deeply resented by the existing electors, several of whom refused to recognize it for years. Coins issued in this window carry implicit political weight: Ernest August died in 1698, leaving his son George Louis to inherit both the electorate and, eventually, the British throne.