4 Pfennig - Frederick II

East Frisia was annexed by Prussia in 1744 following the extinction of the Cirksena dynasty, placing Frederick II in control of a territory with its own deeply entrenched monetary traditions. These small billon pieces were struck at the Aurich mint during the early years of Prussian administration, a period when Frederick was simultaneously managing the financial pressures of the War of the Austrian Succession. The Aurich mint itself had a complicated history of privilege disputes and would be shuttered within years of this issue.