Austria 50 Schilling Silver Coin 1969 450th anniversary of the death of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Commemorative issue: 450th Anniversary of the Death of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Obverse: Bust of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor with hat, right, dates in legend.
Lettering: 1493 - MAXIMILIAN I - 1519-1969.
Engraver: Hans Köttenstorfer.
Reverse: Face value within a circle of the nine shields of the federal provinces of Austria, Coat of arms of Austria above the face value.
Lettering: REPUBLIK · 50 SCHILLING ÖSTERREICH.
Engraver: Edwin Grienauer.
Edge Lettering: FUENFZIG SCHILLING.
Composition: Silver.
Fineness: 0.900.
Weight: 20 g.
ASW: 0.5787 oz.
Diameter: 34 mm.
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I (born March 22, 1459, Wiener Neustadt, Austria — died January 12, 1519, Wels), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky. He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Through marriage of his son Philip the Handsome to eventual queen Joanna of Castile in 1498, Maximilian helped to establish the Habsburg dynasty in Spain which allowed his grandson Charles to hold the thrones of both Castile and Aragon. Since his father Philip died in 1506, Charles succeeded Maximilian as Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, and thus ruled both the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire simultaneously. His grandson succeeded to the vast Habsburg realm and the imperial crown as Charles V.