1 Pfennig - Emmerich Joseph of Breidbach-Bürresheim

Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach-Bürresheim was appointed Archbishop-Elector of Mainz in 1763 and proved an enthusiastic reformer in the Josephinist mold, overhauling taxation, education, and — relevant here — the chaotic small-denomination coinage of the electorate. The 1771 copper pfennig issues were part of a broader recoinage effort to impose order on a circulating stock that had accumulated decades of worn, clipped, and counterfeit pieces from multiple issuing authorities.

He died in 1774, leaving his successor Heinrich von Rohan to inherit both the archbishopric and a monetary system still only partially rationalized.