(sold for $24.0)

1779-B, Emperor Joseph II. Silver 20 Kreuzer (S.K.-P.D.) Coin. (VF+) Kremnitz mint!

Condition: VF+ Mint Year: 1779 Reference: KM-2067.1. Mint Place: Kremnitz (B)  Diameter: 28mm Weight: 6.52gm Material: Silver

Obverse: Wreathed bust of Emperor Joseph II right within wreath. Mint initial (B) below bust. Legend: IOSEPH . II . D . G . R . I . S . A . - GE . REX . A . A . L . O . & . M . H . D .

Reverse: Imperial eagle above  denomination (20), splitting mint official´s initials (S.K.-P.D.) and flanked by branches. Legend: VIRTUTE ET - EXEMPLO 1779 . X

Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) 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. Joseph   was a proponent of enlightened absolutism. He has substantially   modernized his empire, introduced religious freedom and standard human   rights for Jews, abolished serfdom and censorship, introduced a working   network of hospitals, a new cadastre, a universal tax system, helped to   expand manufacturing, and approved 6,000 additional decrees. Some of   these reforms faced a vehement opposition by peasants and lords in   several kingdoms and largely failed (e.g. in Hungary) but he gained   immense popularity in other, more developed kingdoms, especially Bohemia   where the name "Josef" became the most popular male first name.

The death of Maria Theresa on November 29, 1780, left   Joseph free. He immediately directed his government on a new course. He   proceeded to attempt to realize his ideal of enlightened despotism   acting on a definite system for the good of all. The measures of   emancipation of the peasantry which his mother had begun were carried on   by him with feverish activity. The spread of education, the   secularization of church lands, the reduction of the religious orders   and the clergy in general to complete submission to the lay state, the   issue of the Patent of Tolerance (1781) providing limited guarantee of   freedom of worship, the promotion of unity by the compulsory use of the   German language—everything which from the point of view of 18th century   philosophy, the Age of Enlightenment, appeared "reasonable"—were   undertaken at once. He strove for administrative unity with   characteristic haste to reach results without preparation.

In addition, Joseph abolished serfdom in 1781.   Later, in 1789, he decreed that peasants must be paid in cash payments   rather than labor obligations. These policies were violently rejected by   both the nobility and the peasants, since their barter economy lacked   money.

Also he abolished the death penalty in 1787 and it remained until 1795.

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