Weissgroschen - Rudolf II Joachimsthal

The Joachimsthal mint in northwestern Bohemia had been one of the most productive silver operations in Central Europe since the 1520s, its output so significant that the coins it struck gave the world the word "dollar" — Joachimsthaler, shortened to Thaler, then dollar. By Rudolf II's reign the mine's yields were declining, and the Weissgroschen issued there reflect a mint working harder to maintain output than to innovate. Rudolf himself spent most of his reign in Prague, increasingly withdrawn, and his imperial administration of Bohemian coinage was notably inconsistent across the period.