Commemorative Issues // Baptism of Johann Georg’s Sons

Sale: Triton X, Lot: 928. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Sachsen-Albertinische Linie. Johann Georg I and August. Electors, 1611-1615. AR Taler Klippe (28.61 g, 12h). Commemorating the baptism of his son, August. Dated 1614 (in chronogram on reverse). IOHAN : GEORG : D : G : DVX : SAXON • ARCHIM : E : EL (rosette), armored half-length figure right, holding baton in right hand, resting left on helmet set on table; SCOPAS - VITÆ - MEÆ - CHRISTVS and rosettes in corners / INGLADIIS : FLORET • RVTA • ITA • AMONA SVIS :, crowned crossed swords within branches; winged cherub heads in corners. Schnee 800; Merseburger -; Davenport 7583; KM 72. Good VF, lightly toned.

Ex Coin Galleries (12 April 2000), lot 813.

Johann Georg I ruled jointly with his brother August as part of the Albertine line of the Saxon dynasty. This klippe commemorates the baptism of Johann Georg’s son August (born 13 August 1614), who would inherit the duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels after his father’s death. The coin’s reverse legend records the date with a chronogram, a technique in which a date is encapsulated inside text. In this example, the chronogram can be found by rearranging all of the capitalized letters in the legend. Starting from the beginning of the legend, the Roman numerals I, L, D, I, L, V, I, M, V, and I can be found inside the Latin text (these characters are slightly taller than the others). By rearranging these letters, we get MDLLVVIIII, which can be summed to find the coin’s date: 1614.