Wechselthaler

The Wechselthaler, also spelt Wechseltaler or Wechsel-Thaler ("exchange thaler"), was minted in 1670 and 1671 in the Electorate of Saxony under Elector John George II (1656–1680) to the Wechselthaler or Burgundian thaler standard (861/1000 fineness). As the name suggests, the Wechselthaler and its subdivisions were intended as a currency to encourage Leipzig's trade with Hamburg and the Netherlands.^[1] The first coins from 1670 therefore bear the inscription WECHSELTHALER on the reverse.^[2] The Wechselthaler standard was only valid in Electoral Saxony in 1670 and 1671.^[3]