1/4 Kreuzer - Maria Theresia Vienna

Maria Theresia had inherited the Habsburg lands in 1740 under the Pragmatic Sanction, but her right to rule was immediately contested by Bavaria, France, Prussia, and Saxony — triggering the War of the Austrian Succession. The 1746 issue falls in the war's final year, when imperial finances were severely strained and small billon fractions like this were critical for paying troops and maintaining domestic commerce while silver flowed toward military expenditure.

The Vienna mint attribution is confirmed by the absence of a provincial mint mark, distinguishing it from contemporary issues struck at Graz or Prague under the same authority.