2 Pfennige - Ernest I

Ernest I ruled Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1826 until his death in 1844, having personally engineered the dynastic union of the two duchies following the Congress of Vienna's reshuffling of Thuringian territories. His reign produced a modest but consistent coinage for local circulation, with the smaller copper denominations seeing the heaviest day-to-day use in market towns like Coburg and Gotha. By 1841, three years before his death, the mint output was already declining as his son — the future Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria — was drawing far more international attention than the duchy itself.