2 Ducats - John Philip Francis of Schönborn

John Philip Francis of Schönborn became Prince-Bishop of Würzburg in 1719, the same year this piece was struck — his elevation to the see coinciding with the final phases of construction on the Würzburg Residenz, the enormous baroque palace he commissioned from Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and later Balthasar Neumann. Ducats issued in accession or early reign years for prince-bishops of this period were frequently presentation pieces rather than circulation currency, produced in limited numbers for diplomatic gift-giving.

The Schönborn family dominated ecclesiastical politics in the Holy Roman Empire throughout the early eighteenth century, simultaneously holding multiple prince-bishoprics across the Reich.