1680, Saxony, John George III. Nice Silver 2/3 Thaler Coin. XF-

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1680, Saxony, John George III. Nice Silver 2/3 Thaler Coin. XF- Mint Year: 1693 Mint Place: Dresden Denomination: 2/3 Thaler Reference: Davenport 843A, KM-28. R! Condition: Cleaned an lightly pitted VF-XF! Diameter: 37.9mm Weight: 16.38gmMaterial: Silver Obverse : Armored and draped bust of the duke right. Legend: IOH . GEORG . II . DG . DUX . SAX . I . C . & . M . Reverse : Multiple coat-of-arms within wreath, crowned by ducal crown. Value (2/3) within oval frame below. Mint master`s signature (O.) in right field. Legend: IVSTITIA - PIETATE / HC-M (crossed mint hooks) 93?Authenticity unconditionally guaranteed. ! Johann Georg III (20 June 1647 – 12 September 1691) was Elector of Saxony from 1680 to 1691. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.John George was born in Dresden, the only son of John George II and Magdalene Sybille of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.John George succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony when he died, in 1680; he was also appointed Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire. Because of his courage and his enthusiasm for the War he gained the nickname of the " Saxonian Mars ".From his childhood, he learned the typical duties and manners of an heir to the throne. That included not only a strictly Lutheran education but also language tuition and instruction in the art of fortress building and warfare.In character he resembled his father. He shared his liking for Italian music and theatre. In 1685 John George III met the Venetian opera singer Margarita Salicola and began a relationship; he brought her to Dresden (not only to work, but also as his official mistress). She began a new era for the opera in Saxony, which had previously been dominated by the castrati . In 1686, the pietist Philipp Jakob Spener became the court chaplain in Dresden. But Spener was not generally accepted there and in 1691 he moved to Brandenburg.Meanwhile, the duchy had recovered again from the consequences of the Thirty Years' War. By 1689, Dresden had a population of 21,300 and was becoming less provincial. Four years before, in 1685, the old city of Dresden was destroyed by a fire; later, Wolf Caspar of Klengel and Balthasar Permoser were entrusted by the Duke with the reconstruction of the city in the baroque style which was the new fashion at the time.John George showed a strong interest in the military and even while he was still the heir led Saxonian Army forces in the Rhine Campaign.After his accession as Elector, he reduced the size of the royal household and began with the establishment of a small standing army of 12,000 men, after the model of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and managed to extract from the states of the realm a commitment to contribute funds. The Privy War Chancellery ( geheime Kriegskanzlei ) was set up as the highest military authority. Extreme pressure was used to obtain recruits for the new army. He always neglected home affairs.In foreign policy, he was less inconstant than his father. He broke off relations with the French crown and strove energetically to win Brandenburg and other German princes for the Imperial war against the French aggressor.Valued as an ally by the Habsburg court, he was nevertheless viewed with extreme distrust and was not able to overall command of all the imperial troops in the face of a Turkish invasion and he did not obtain the means (food supply and winter accommodation) necessary for the maintenance of his auxiliary troops. There was also the matter of John George's wish for Emperor Leopold I to decide a law case concerning a wooded area in the Ore Mountains ( Erzgebirge ) in his favour. The Emperor did not grant material support until the siege of Vienna made his situation look increasingly desperate. Johann Georg even led his 10,400 strong army against the Turks. However, there was strong opposition from the estates of Saxony, not only because this expensive campaign was exhausting the ... read more

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