12 Groschen

Metz occupied a peculiar constitutional position throughout this period — a free imperial city under nominal Habsburg suzerainty, yet effectively under French military occupation after Henri II seized the Three Bishoprics in 1552. The city retained its own mint and coinage rights well into the seventeenth century as a matter of civic pride and practical necessity, the 12 Groschen being one of the few denominations that continued striking under municipal authority even as French administrative pressure mounted.

Production effectively ceased when Louis XIV formally incorporated Metz into France in 1661, ending over a century of independent civic coinage.