1/2 Batzen - Albert IV

Albert IV of Bavaria secured papal recognition of primogeniture succession for the Wittelsbach dynasty in 1506 — the same year this coin was struck — ending generations of territorial fragmentation caused by inheritance divisions among male heirs. The Batzen denomination itself was a recent Swiss innovation, adopted widely across southern German territories during the 1490s as a practical response to the chronic shortage of mid-value silver currency.

The Witt. 200 A/a distinction suggests early die state; collector differentiation within this type runs deep, and the MB#17 / Hahn#7 concordance places this firmly among the better-documented half-Batzen issues of the period.