1/4 Kreuzer - Charles I

Charles I came to the Württemberg throne in 1864, and these small copper pieces were among the first coins struck under his reign. The timing matters: the North German Confederation formed in 1866, and by 1871 Württemberg was absorbed into the newly unified German Empire, yet these fractional coppers continued circulating under the old reckoning until the Reichsmark system replaced the south German Kreuzer denominations in 1873.

The 1/4 Kreuzer was the smallest denomination in regular production — essentially the bottom of the monetary ladder, issued for the poorest transactions and largely ignored by anyone who could afford better.