5 Kreuzer

Augsburg maintained its status as a Free Imperial City until Napoleon dissolved the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and its coinage rights — jealously guarded for centuries — were among the privileges it exercised with considerable independence. The 1766 date places this piece squarely in the period when billon small change was being scrutinized across German-speaking territories, as Maria Theresa's monetary reforms were pressuring smaller issuing authorities to align their alloy standards with Vienna's expectations. Augsburg largely ignored the pressure.