Jester's Challenge #7

1jester

Welcome, Darkside Collectors (and all others who wish to participate)!!!

Inspired by others here on the Darkside forum, including Severo, Rublevik, Ajaan, Cacheman, Aethelred, Mongoose, Wybrit, LordMarcovan, Askari, Shirohniichan and many others, I'd like to start what I hope will turn into a great learning experience for all of us. The above-mentioned members, and many others, have done a formidable job in sharing with us many fascinating and historically important coins. Since that's one of the greatest pleasures to me, I'd like to try to follow in that time-honored tradition and submit for your pleasure and entertainment some world coins I've come across in my short lifetime.

I will pick out a coin on a regular basis, and post it along with the challenge to you to name the coin, its provenance, denomination, metallic content, mintage, any distinguishing characteristics or noteworthy features, and its value. The more information, the better. I'd like as many people as possible to participate, regardless of how little knowledge you might have on the subject. I appreciate comments on every aspect of the coin, including its history, or its role in human history, or info on similar coins in its series, etc. I myself don't assume to know 1/100 of what you collectively know, hence my challenge to all of you to share your knowledge with the rest of us. Hopefully this exercise will encourage thought, discussion, and primarily more friendship.

Thanks for your participation!!!

Here goes the seventh selection:

kuhli

Some sort of memorial token for Christiane Eberhardine, wife of Augustus II, King of Saxony and also later King of Poland.

She was born in Bayreuth, 19 Dec. 1671, died 5 Sept. 1727, buried in Pretzsch, Saxony.

1jester

Kuhli, yes. The scanner simply doesn't pick up the vibrant yellows and oranges on the reverse, nor the blues and purples on the obverse. Lots of mint luster. These commemoratives came in different denominations; this one is a 2 grosz piece. The mint mark (to the right of the S. and under the P, at 5:00 on the reverse) shows it was minted in Dresden.

shirohniichan

Where exactly does an "elector" stand in relation to a duke, baron, and prince?

kuhli

Not sure that elector really fits into the rankings with Prince, Duke, etc. The title Elector has to do with the position of the head of state within in the Holy Roman Empire. As an Elector, Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (a.k.a. King Augustus II of Poland) had the right to place a vote in the election of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was later raised in title to King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony during the French Revolutionary Wars.

1jester

Was there more than one elector at any one given time? I thought there was only one, but I really am not well versed in these matters. I was under the impression that the elector was the stand-in for the Pope during times when there was no Pope (like after the Pope had died, and before a new one had been chosen).

1jester

ttt