AR 20 Kreuzer

Struck: 1779
Mint: Kremnitz
Size: 28mm
Weight: 6.57g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: gF
Ref: KM 2069

Obv: IOSEPH•II•D: G•R•I•S•A• GE•REX•A•A•LO•&•M•H•D. Laureate head of Joseph right, B below, all within wreath.
Rev: EXEMPLO 1779 X VIRTUTE ET. Crowned double-eagle, crowned crest on breast, 20 in frame below flanked by fronds.
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Joseph II was born March 13, 1741 and was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, and was the brother of Marie Antoinette. Joseph was a proponent of enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant oppositionb, which eventually culminated in an ultimate failure to fully implement his programs. He has been ranked, with Catherine II of Russia and Frederick II of Prussia, as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs.

Joseph implemented many legal and administrative reforms but is most remembered for his sweeping social reforms. To produce a literate citizenry, elementary education was made compulsory for all boys and girls, and scholarships for higher education were created for talented poor students. Joseph's policy of religious toleration was the most aggressive of any state in Europe. Joseph attempted to centralize medical care in Vienna through the construction of a single, large hospital which opened in 1784. Centralization, however, worsened sanitation problems causing epidemics, but the city became preeminent in the medical field in the next century. Joseph was also, like many of the "enlightened monarchs" of his time, a lover and patron of the arts.

On February 20, 1790, when he was 48 years old, Joseph passed away in Vienna. It was a lonely death. Joseph had been married twice, but had lost both wives to smallpox, and had no living children. His brother, Leopold, who was to be Joseph's successor, did not visit his bedside. He died believing that his reforms had weakened his empire. However, his support for modern ideals like religious tolerance led to lasting changes in Europe, and he paved the way for the complete abolition of feudalism in 1848. He asked that his epitaph read: "Here lies Joseph II, who failed in all he undertook." His impact on the world would prove otherwise.