Sale: Triton X, Lot: 1041. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Monday, 8 January 2007.  Sold For $550. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GERMANY, Sachsen-Albertinische Linie. Johann Georg II. Elector, 1656-1680. AR Taler (29.08 g, 9h). Commemorating the death of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III. Dresden mint. Dated 1658. DEO ET PATRIÆ • 1658 •, duke, crowned and holding sword in right hand, on horseback; Saxony coat of arms below / D • G • / IOHAN • GEORG • II • / DUX • SAX • I • C • & MONT • / S • R • IMP • ARCHIM • ELECT / ATQ • POST • EXCESS • DIV • IMP / FERDIN • III • AUG • VICARI / LANDG • THUR • MAR • MIS : / NIÆ • SUP • & INF • IUSATIÆ / BURGG • MAGD . COM • DE / MARC • & RAVENSB • / DOM • INRAVEN : / STEIN • in twelve lines. Schnee 901; Davenport 7630; KM 481. Superb EF, lustrous.

Ferdinand III took power after his father’s death in 1637. He was faced with the daunting task of making peace with the various participants of the Thirty Years’ War in a bid to end the incredibly costly conflict. To gain allies among the Protestant German princes, Ferdinand gave them the authority to conduct their own foreign policy in 1644. This political concession reduced the influence of the Emperor and was a boon to the power of the German states. This taler was produced by Johann Georg II just after Ferdinand’s death. It commemorates the Emperor who brokered peace with Saxony and helped pacify the German princes during an extremely turbulent period.