Silver, 0.45 grams, 16.12 mm. 16th century AD. Minted during the reign of Philip & Mary of England, in Hungary. Obverse: enthroned figure of Madonna holding child with letters 'KB' at sides for the Kremintz mint and legend PATRONA VNGARIA. Reverse: shield of arms with date 1550 above and legend FERDINAND D G HVNG. Very fine.

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1531, the year of his election as King of the Romans (10 March 1503 - 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556 (not formally until 1558) till his death in 1564. Ferdinand was born in Madrid, the son of Juana the Mad, Queen of Castile (1479-1555), and Philip I the Handsome, King of Castile (1478-1506), who was heir to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. Ferdinand was the younger brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who entrusted him with the government of the Habsburg hereditary lands (roughly modern-day Austria and Slovenia). In 1531 Ferdinand was elected King of the Romans, making him Charles's designated heir as emperor. He deputised as ruler during his brother's many absences from imperial lands. After Charles's abdication as emperor in 1556, which was not formal until 1558, Ferdinand assumed the title of Holy Roman Emperor, Charles having agreed to exclude his own son Philip from the German succession, which instead passed to Ferdinand's eldest son Maximilian (1527-1576).