1/4 Thaler Salzburg Silver Johann Ernst von Thun und Hohenstein

1696, Salzburg, Johann Ernst von Thun. Scarce Silver 1/4 Thaler Coin. XF-AU!

Mint Year: 1696
Mint Place: Salzburg
Reference: KM-282.
Denomination: 1/4 Thaler
Condition: Lightly bent by the roller dies, which have produced this coin, otherwise a beautiful XF-AU!
Diameter: 31mm
Weight: 7.17gm
Material: Silver

Obverse: 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.
Outer Legend: IO : ERNEST9 D:G: ARCHIEP:SAL:S:A:L.

Reverse: Saint Rupert standing, holding crozier and salt barrel, factional thaler value (1/4) and arms of Salzburg below.
Latin Legend: S : RVDBERTUS . EPS : SALISB : 1696

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.