1/2 Kreuzer - Maximilian IV Joseph

Maximilian IV Joseph became Elector of Bavaria in 1799 with French backing, and his early coinage — including this copper fraction — was struck during the administrative reorganization that preceded Bavaria's elevation to a kingdom in 1806. The 1802 date places this squarely in the transitional period when the Electorate was absorbing secularized church territories under the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, dramatically expanding its land and population. Small copper fractions bore the brunt of everyday commerce during this upheaval, circulating hard through markets and toll roads in newly acquired towns that had never before used Bavarian coin.