⅓ Thaler - Max Gandolf von Kuenburg Brandenburg-Prussia, Countermarked

Max Gandolf von Kuenburg, Archbishop of Salzburg from 1668 to 1687, ruled one of the wealthiest ecclesiastical territories in the Holy Roman Empire — the archbishopric controlled the alpine salt trade and struck coinage accordingly. This piece is a Salzburg ⅓ Thaler subsequently countermarked for circulation in Brandenburg-Prussia, a practice used by the Hohenzollern administration to validate foreign silver and bring it into local monetary circulation without the expense of recoinage. Brandenburg-Prussia was aggressive in this approach through the latter half of the seventeenth century, countermarking coins from numerous issuing authorities across the Empire.

The Zöttl reference confirms the countermark attribution. Die variety 2088.69 is among the documented examples of this specific host-coin and punch combination.