1/2 Kreuzer - Frederick V

Frederick V — better known as Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor — ruled the Duchy of Austria while simultaneously holding the imperial title, a dual burden that kept him perpetually short of funds and frequently at war with his own nobility. His half-kreuzer issues of this period were minted under constant fiscal pressure, as the Habsburg coffers were repeatedly drained by conflicts including a prolonged siege of Vienna itself in 1462, when Frederick was blockaded inside the Hofburg by his own brother Albrecht VI.