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. The first coins from 1670 therefore bear the inscription WECHSELTHALER on the reverse. The "Wechselthaler" standard was only valid in Electoral Saxony in 1670 and 1671.
History.
Thanks to the trade fairs, "thalers" from the provinces of the Netherlands minted to the Burgundian standard, arrived in Saxony via the trade route to Leipzig. These coins were indeed better than the Electoral Saxon ones, which were minted to the national currency standard of the Treaty of Zinna, but of lower quality than the "Speciesreichsthaler" coins minted to the Imperial Coin Standard. Nevertheless, they were considered equivalent to the Saxon "Speciesreichstaler".
The " ;templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" / ;1⁄3 Thalers", on the other hand, were of lower value. According to the Zinna treaty, they had a face value of 8 "groschen", but were only accepted in Hamburg at a rate of 7 "groschen".
Electoral Saxon "Speciesreichstaler", "Kuranttaler" (a coin of account from the Treaty of Zinna), and "thaler" pieces issued to the Burgundian standard had the following differences in value:
The "thalers" of the Dutch provinces were worth 26 "groschen" in Zinna currency, the "Speciesreichstalers" as mentioned above 28 "groschen". Since "thalers" minted to the Burgundian standard were accepted as a full "Reichstaler", there were protests from the Leipzig merchants, who were supported by the Electoral Saxon estates. They suggested to the elector that he himself should have the Burgundian standard minted.
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;This is the origin and the intention of a monetary coinage that is deliberately distinguished from other "thalers" by the employment of the name "Wechselthaler" [...] which has been very puzzling to coin researchers in the past, [...]. g) Johann Jakob Vogel [...] notes on p. 750: that That the "Wechselthalers" were (first) coined in 1670, that they were equal in value to the Burgundian "thalers", and that they were accepted in exchange [end of note]. Immediately after the closed Landtage in March 1670, a start was made with its minting.
With the decree of 3 March 1670, the "Wechselthaler" standard, which corresponded to the Burgundian standard, was introduced in the Electorate of Saxony. Afterwards, minting was only carried out in the years 1670 and 1671 according to accounts from the Dresden Mint.
Description.
The "Wechselthalers" were coined as whole, half- and quarter-"thalers". "Thalers" with almost the same design were struck in the Dresden Mint. Some of those minted in 1671 had slight changes in the bust and the shape of the coat of arms. But there are also double, triple, and quadruple "Wechselthalers", which are extremely rare. The inscription WECHSELTHALER on the back was only used in the first two quarters of 1670. The majority of "thalers" were minted without this inscription but with the same general design. The obverse bears the armoured bust of John George II and part of his titular inscription. The orb is above the ruler's head. The reverse shows the simplified Saxon coat of arms under the electoral hat and the rest of his titular inscription, the year and the mintmaster acorn, as well as the initials C - R of Dresden mintmaster, Constantin Rothe.
The dies of the first "thalers" were apparently still cut by Johann Caspar Höckner. The following die were probably made by Ernst Caspar Dürr, who was given to the coin cutter Höckner as adjunct at the end of 1670.
Inscription.
IOHAN(nes). GEORG(ius). II. D(ei). G(ratia). DUX. SAX(oniae). I(uliaci). CL(iviae). ET. MONT(ium). // SAC(ri). ROME(ani). IMP(erii). ARCHIM(arschallus). ET. ELECT(or).
John George II, by the Grace of God Duke of Saxony, Jülich, Cleves and Berg, of the Holy Roman Empire Arch-Marshal and Elector.
"Wechseltaler" standard.
Table based on Arnold &amp; Schwinkowski