3 Kreuzers - Frederick II

Frederick II became Duke of Württemberg in 1797 under French revolutionary pressure, having switched allegiances from Prussia to Austria and back again with enough frequency to unsettle both. By 1799, Württemberg's monetary situation was complicated by the disruption of Rhine trade routes and French military requisitioning — small billon coins like this were struck in quantities sufficient to keep local commerce moving when larger denominations had effectively vanished from circulation. Frederick would go on to be elevated to Elector in 1803 and then King in 1806, making his ducal issues a relatively compressed series.