AR 6 Kreuzer

Struck: 1688
Mint: Vienna
Size: 26mm
Weight: 2.93g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: gVF
Ref: KM#1856

Obv: LEOPOLDVS D•G•R•I•S•A•G•H•B REX. Laureate bust right. VI below.
Rev: ARCHID AVS DVX•B•.CO•.TVR•16 88. Double headed eagle with shield on breast.
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Leopold I was King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor from 1658 - 1705. He has been somewhat overlooked historically which is surprising, for Leopold’s reign was pivotal in the history of the Habsburg Monarchy and experienced some of the most important events in the emergence of the Austrian state as a great European power. Under Leopold the Habsburg Monarchy increased its land area by more than fifty percent.

Leopold's reign is known for the conflicts with the Ottoman Empire in the east, and the rivalry with Louis XIV, his first cousin, in the west. His rivalry with Louis culminated in a series of wars which ended up engulfing much of Europe, lasted well beyond Leopold's death and cannot be said to have had much benefit for Austria. His war with Turkey however was very successful. In the Great Turkish War, Leopold eliminated an Ottoman threat that had menaced eastern and central Europe for almost two centuries.