Saxony, Albertine line
August I Wettin (1553-1586), Thaler 1577, Dresden mint
Obverse: armored, half-figure right, holding sword over shoulder, dividing date
AVGVSTVS D G DVX SAXO SA ROMA IM
Reverse: Tri-helmeted ducal coat-of-arms
ARCHIMARS CHAL ET ELECWeight 28.95 g
August I Wettin, elector of Saxony in 1553-1586. He came from the Albertine line of the Wettins. He was the son of the Saxon prince Henryk the Pious. After his father's death in 1541, he and Maurice Wettin took over power, but quickly resigned, recognizing the supremacy of his older brother and entrusting him with the main state tasks. In 1553, after Maurice's childless death, he became elector of Saxony. During the Diet in Augsburg in 1555, he was one of the most important Protestant leaders of the Reich. After the end of religious wars in Germany, he undertook economic reforms in Saxony, which brought about the development of the country.
