Saxony-Weimar
Friedrich Wilhelm I and Johann III, 1/2 Thaler 1584, Saalfeld mint
Obverse: half-length bust in cloak facing right
D G FRI WIL DV SEX IA N TH E MAR MI MO IMP
Reverse: half-length bust in cloak facing left
IO HAN DV SAX LA N THV E MAR MIS D G
Weight 14.16 g
Johann III was the second son of Prince Johann William I, from his second marriage to Dorothea Susanne, daughter of the Elector Frederick III of Palatinate. Johann's father died when he was three years old. As his older brother, Friedrich Wilhelm, was still a minor at the time, the Duchy of Saxony-Weimar was initially under the guardianship of the elector of Saxony. In 1586, Johann's older brother reached the age of majority and became the duke of Saxony-Weimar. Jan married Dorothea Maria in Altenburg on January 7, 1593, daughter of Prince Joachim Ernst von Anhalt. After the death of his older brother in 1602, Johann became the Duke of Saxony-Weimar. Johann was more interested in the natural sciences and the arts than in politics, he was sick all his life and therefore reluctantly seized power in the principality.
