Henry XXII ruled the elder line of Reuss-Greiz for an extraordinary 67 years, from 1859 until his death in 1902 — one of the longest reigns of any German princeling in the 19th century. The 1868 pfennig was struck just three years before Reuss-Greiz was absorbed into the newly proclaimed German Empire, after which independent coinage from the principality effectively ceased. The tiny state covered roughly 320 square kilometers at its peak.
Henry XXII ruled the elder line of Reuss-Greiz for an extraordinary 67 years, from 1859 until his death in 1902 — one of the longest reigns of any German princeling in the 19th century. The 1868 pfennig was struck just three years before Reuss-Greiz was absorbed into the newly proclaimed German Empire, after which independent coinage from the principality effectively ceased. The tiny state covered roughly 320 square kilometers at its peak.