Archduke of Austria, Ferdinand II (1564-1595), Thaler 1574, Hall mint
Obverse: crowned and armored half-length bust right, holding scepter and sword pommel, below, 60 within cartouche
FERDINANDVS D G ARCHI DVX AVST
Reverse: Coat-of-arms within collar
DVX BVRGVNDIE COMES TIROLISWeight 24.59 g
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was the second son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. He was a younger brother of Emperor Maximilian II. At the behest of his father, he was put in charge of the administration of Bohemia in 1547. He also led the campaign against the Turks in Hungary in 1556. In 1557 he was secretly married to Philippine Welser, daughter of a patrician from Augsburg, with whom he had several children. The marriage was only accepted by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1559 under the condition of secrecy.
After the death of his wife Philippine in 1580, he married Anna Caterina Gonzaga, a daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua, in 1582. Archduke Ferdinand died on 24 January 1595. Since his sons from the first marriage were not entitled to the inheritance, and the second produced only surviving daughters, Tirol was reunified with the other Habsburg lands.
