1848, Austria, Revolutions of 1848-1849. Copper 2 Kreuzer Coin.
Mint year: 1848 Mint Place: Vienna (A) Denomination: 2 Kreuzer Reference: Frühwald 1072, KM-2188. Condition: Minor deposits in reverse, otherwise XF-AU! Material: Copper Weight: 17.44gm Diameter: 31mm
Obverse: Value (2) above denomination (KREUZER) and date (1848) above sprays in saltire and mint initial (A).
Reverse: Crowned shield with imperial double headed eagle with shield with coat of arms at chest, holding sword, imperial sceptre and orb. Legend: K.K. OESTERREICHISCHE SCHEIDEMÜNZE
When the Gulden was decimalized in 1857, new coins were issued in denominations of ½ (actually written 5/10), 1, 2 and 4 Kreuzer in copper, with silver coins of 5, 10 and 20 Kreuzer, ¼, 1 and 2 Florin and 1 and 2 Vereinsthaler and gold coins of 4 and 8 Florin or 10 and 20 francs.
The revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire took place from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Austrian Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Bohemians (Czechs), Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Slovenes, Slovaks, Romanians, Croats, Italians, and Serbs; all of whom attempted in the course of the revolution to either achieve autonomy, independence, or even hegemony over other nationalities. The nationalist picture was further complicated by the simultaneous events in the German states, which moved toward greater German national unity. Besides these nationalists, liberal and socialist currents resisted the Empire's longstanding conservatism.
The events of 1848 were the product of mounting social and political tensions after the Congress of Vienna of 1815. During the "pre-March" period, the already conservative Austrian Empire moved further away from ideas of the Age of Enlightenment, restricted freedom of the press, limited many university activities, and banned fraternities.