2 Kreuzers - Maximilian II Joachimsthal

Maximilian II held the Bohemian crown while simultaneously serving as Holy Roman Emperor, and his coinage reflects the administrative complexity of managing a kingdom whose mining output — particularly from Joachimsthal — was among the most productive in Europe. The Joachimsthal mint had been the original source of the large silver Joachimsthaler coins in the early sixteenth century, and though its dominant output had declined by Maximilian's reign, it remained a significant regional striking facility for smaller denominations.

The eight-year span of this type corresponds to Maximilian's persistent tension with the Bohemian estates over religious concessions to Protestant nobles — a negotiation that consumed much of his domestic political energy throughout the 1560s.