1708, Salzburg, Johann Ernst von Thun. Silver 1/4 Thaler Coin. Top Pop! NGC MS-62(+)

Mint Year: 1708
Reference: KM-282. 
Mint Place: Salzburg
Denomination: 1/4 Thaler
Condition: Certified and graded by NGC as MS-62(+) - Population 1/0!
Weight: ca. 7.25gm
Diameter: 31mm
Material: Silver

Obverse: Saint Rupert standing, holding crozier and salt barrel, factional thaler value (1/4) and arms of Salzburg below.
Legend: S : RVDBERTUS . EPS : SALISB : 1699

Reverse: Crowned and nimbate madonna with baby Jesus child & scepter. Inscription inside inner circle.
Comment: Arms of Johann Ernst below, topped by cross below covered by legate´s hat!
Legend: IO : ERNEST9 D:G: ARCHIEP:SAL:S:A:L.

 

The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire, roughly consisting of the present-day state of Salzburg (the ancient Roman city of Iuvavum) in Austria.

Johann Ernst von Thun (July 3, 1643, Graz, Austria - April 20, 1709, Salzburg, Austria) was prince-archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, from 1687 to 1709. He was originally from the south Tyrol and he displayed a marked antipathy to the Italian designers and tastemakers that were emulated by many Austrians at the time. Upon his accession, he halted work on a church being built for an Italian order of monks and denied payment to Italian craftsmen. The archbishop is best remembered as patron of the architect Fischer von Erlach, a leader of Austrian Baroque church architecture. In 1697, the archbishop obliged all graduates of Salzburg's university to swear belief in the Immaculate Conception. Upon his death, Archbishop von Thun had his brain deposited in the university chapel, his entrails (symbolizing compassion) deposited in his Hospital Church, and his heart interred at his favorite Church of the Trinity.