2 1/2 Kreuzer - Charles Alexander

Charles Alexander (Karl Alexander) ruled Württemberg from 1733 until his sudden death in 1737, a reign defined by constant friction with the Protestant Estates over his Catholicism and his aggressive use of his financial advisor Joseph Süß Oppenheimer — "Jud Süß" — to fund military ambitions outside the Estates' control. The small billon issues of 1734–1736 fall squarely within this period of fiscal maneuvering, when the ducal mint was operating under financial pressures that Oppenheimer helped engineer. Within days of Charles Alexander's death, Oppenheimer was arrested; he was executed in 1738.