20 Kreuzers - Ernest Frederick III

Ernest Frederick III ruled Saxe-Hildburghausen through chronic financial embarrassment — the duchy was among the smallest and most debt-ridden of the Saxon partition states, and its coinage output reflects that desperation. Billon issues like this one were a standard resort for territories that lacked the silver reserves for proper Kreuzer coinage but still needed to meet military and administrative obligations during the Seven Years' War, which was grinding through its fifth year when this piece was struck.

The duchy's fiscal crisis ran deep enough that Ernest Frederick III was eventually forced to cede financial administration to an imperial commission in 1769.