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Obverse of Holy Roman Empire 3 Kreuzers
Obverse of Holy Roman Empire 3 Kreuzers

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Reverse of Holy Roman Empire 3 Kreuzers
Reverse of Holy Roman Empire 3 Kreuzers

A Brief History of the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was an Empire encompassing Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of Northern Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and France. It was considered to be a largely Germanic political entity, and is sometimes described by German historians as 'the First Reich'. Its capital for most its history was Vienna, now in Austria.

Origins
The origins of the Holy Roman Empire began with the conquest of much of modern day Germany by the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne. His alliance with and assistance of the Papacy led to Leo III crowning him 'Emperor of the Romans' in 800 AD.
Charlemagne was not considered to be the first of the Holy Roman Emperors however, and 'Emperor of the Romans' was considered to be a largely honorary title.
Charlemagne's Empire had broken up in the 840s following the death of his son, Louis the Pius, and divided up amongst three of Charlemagne's grandsons. West Francia, which would eventually evolve into the Kingdom of France, went to Charles the Bald, East Francia (which later evolved into the core of the Holy Roman Empire) went to Louis the German, and Middle Francia went to Lothair, who also inherited the nominal title of 'Emperor of the Romans'. However, the title lapsed with the death of Berengar I, Margrave of Friuli and King of Italy in 924 AD.

Formation
Although the date of the formation of the Holy Roman Empire is a grey area, most historians consider Otto I, King of Germany, to be the first true Holy Roman Emperor. Two years after ascending to the German throne, a rich vein of silver was discovered within his kingdom at Rammelsberg, Saxony in 938 AD. Otto used this newfound wealth to launch a series of campaigns to bring his rebellious vassals to heel and then expand his holdings in the neighbouring states. Having provided military assistance to the Pope, John XII and appointed himself as the protector of the Papal States, the Pope rewarded Otto by resurrecting the defunct title 'Emperor of the Romans' and conferring it upon him in 962.
The Ottonian dynasty died out with Henry II in 1024, and Conrad II, of the Salian Dynasty was elected to the throne by the various princes of the Imperial states, establishing the principle of the title of Emperor being (nominally at least) established by election, rather than automatic hereditary birth right.

Middle Ages
Although the Holy Roman Empire had come into being as a result of close relations with the papacy, relations between the Empire and the papacy did not remain cordial. Before the election of Pope Gregory VII it had long been established practice for the Kings of Europe to appoint their own bishops to the ecclesiastical offices within their realms, but as far as the new Pope was concerned, all ecclesiastical appointments should have fallen within the jurisdiction of the Church only. This led to an argument with Emperor Henry IV, who persuaded his own appointed bishops to excommunicate the Pope, who in turn, excommunicated the Emperor, and further stated that his vassals and followers were no longer bound by their oaths of loyalty to him. The excommunication was lifted in 1077 when Henry IV submitted himself to a humiliating penance, but this signalled the first of many fallings out between the Holy Roman Emperors and the papacy. It also demonstrated the limits of the Emperor's royal authority, and marked the beginnings of a process of decentralisation that would eventually see the authority of the Holy Roman Emperors become largely nominal outside the lands that they did not own directly.

Habsburgs
The final dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire came to power in 1519, when Charles V became Holy Roman Emperor. Faced with the decline of Imperial authority in the Germanic states, partly as a result of the rise of Lutheran Protestantism, the Habsburgs saw a continuing loss of influence over their nominal vassals and prince-electors to the North.
The consequences of Protestantisation culminated in the outbreak of the 30 Years War in 1618, fought largely between the Catholic Holy Roman Emperors and their Protestant subjects and allies, but also against the French Bourbons, perpetual rivals and enemies of the Habsburgs, in spite of their shared Catholic faith.
The result of the 30 years war was the effective autonomy of most of the German states outside of Austria. The Empire nevertheless struggled on until 1806, when Ferdinand II was forced to abdicate as Holy Roman Emperor following a peace treaty with Napoleon, who formed the conquered German states into a French-controlled Confederation known as the Confederation of the Rhine. Ferdinand II reinvented himself as Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, and despite the reversal of Napoleon's fortunes, declined to resurrect the title of Holy Roman Emperor. The Habsburg Empire of Ferdinand's heirs nevertheless carried on as the Austrian and (from 1867) Austro-Hungarian Empire until the final collapse of the Habsburg Empire in 1918, when following the loss of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, partial successor to the Holy Roman Empire was broken up into its constituent nations.
During the twilight years of the Holy Roman Empire's existence, the French wit and philosopher Voltaire commented that 'this agglomeration that calls itself, and still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire, is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire'. Given the Empire's frequent fall outs with the Church, distance from Rome and towards the end of its existence, complete lack of authority over its territories outside of the Emperor's core lands, it is easy to see why Voltaire might have made that comment.

Coinage of the Holy Roman Empire
Charlemagne, who was arguably the grandfather if not father of the Holy Roman Empire, introduced a £sd style currency into his Empire during the late 8th Century A.D. the principle coins of which were silver deniers (or pennies/pennings/pfennigs). However, rulers of the various lands nominally under the realm of the Holy Roman Empire began to issue their own coins and denominations from the late middle ages onwards, and the names and types of these coins are legion.
However, from the 16th Century onwards, the closest to what could be considered the standard unit of currency in the Empire was the Thaler, a silver coin that was originally struck from silver mined in Joachimsthal in Bohemia. The Reichsthaler, established in 1566 by the Leipzig Convention was the standard of value by which all other imperial currencies were measured, and contained 1/9 of a Cologne Mark of silver. For most German states, the Reichstaler was divided into 288 pfennigs, or 24 groschen, but this standard was not universal.
The Reichsthaler was largely superseded by the Conventionsthaler in 1754, which was worth 1/10 of a Cologne Mark of silver.
Interestingly, although the Holy Roman Empire is long gone, its currency is not completely defunct, as the Maria Theresa Thaler has continued to be struck since 1780, in the name of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa. This coin is still used as an unofficial currency in some parts of the world, particularly in north eastern Africa.

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