Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Kreuzer - Maximilian II Breslau
| Issuer | Holy Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1564-1569 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A long ornate cross divides the field into four quadrants, each containing a floral or trefoil ornament. The date numerals are distributed across the quadrants flanking the cross arms. The legend, giving the Emperor's titles as Archduke of Austria and Duke of Silesia, is arranged in four segments around the cross, reading ARCH / AVST D / VX SI / LESIÆ, all within a beaded border typical of Breslau mint issues of this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Breslau Mint |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Maximilian II's accession in 1564 coincided with acute pressure on the Habsburg silver supply — the Schmalkaldic aftermath and ongoing Ottoman frontier costs had drained imperial coffers, and small-denomination coinage was chronically short across Silesian markets. The Breslau mint, operating under municipal privilege rather than direct imperial control, filled that gap. These kreuzers circulated hard through a merchant economy heavily dependent on small change, which explains the difficulty in locating unworn survivors.
Friedensburg's 1901 catalog of Silesian coinage remains the authority for attributing Breslau-struck issues of this reign, distinguishing them from contemporaneous Bohemian output by subtle die characteristics.