2 Kreuzers - John Louis

Nassau-Idstein was among the smallest and most financially precarious of the Nassau partition territories, and its billon issues of the 1590s reflect the chronic small-change shortage that plagued the fragmented Rhineland states throughout the latter half of the sixteenth century. John Louis ruled the county from 1568 until his death in 1596, presiding over a territory whose minting activity was modest by any measure — the Isenbeck reference range of die varieties spanning numbers 2 through 25 suggests a surprisingly active production run for so minor a mint.