Rudolf II moved his imperial court from Vienna to Prague in 1583, making Bohemia the administrative heart of the Habsburg empire for the next two decades. This klippe — struck in square format — was almost certainly produced as a presentation piece rather than a circulating coin, a practice common at the Prague mint when demonstrating technical virtuosity to the emperor or distributing gifts among court officials. The "Maley Groschen" designation ties the die to a small groschen type, an unusual pairing with a gold ducat denomination.
Diet#446 is a rare reference, and surviving examples are thinly documented outside major European cabinet collections.
Rudolf II moved his imperial court from Vienna to Prague in 1583, making Bohemia the administrative heart of the Habsburg empire for the next two decades. This klippe — struck in square format — was almost certainly produced as a presentation piece rather than a circulating coin, a practice common at the Prague mint when demonstrating technical virtuosity to the emperor or distributing gifts among court officials. The "Maley Groschen" designation ties the die to a small groschen type, an unusual pairing with a gold ducat denomination.
Diet#446 is a rare reference, and surviving examples are thinly documented outside major European cabinet collections.