1 Ducat – Hungary

In 1707, Hungary’s currency situation was deeply unstable and symptomatic of the broader political and military crisis of the Rákóczi War of Independence (1703-1711). Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II, leading a rebellion against Habsburg rule, sought to establish an independent Hungarian state with its own fiscal system. To finance his military campaign, his administration in Košice (Kassa) began issuing its own copper currency, known as the Rákóczi krajcár or libertas coinage, starting in 1705. These coins were of necessity low-value and made from readily available materials, leading to rapid inflation as the war progressed.

The monetary landscape was one of extreme fragmentation and devaluation. Alongside Rákóczi’s rebel coinage, older Habsburg coins (talers, denars, and copper coins) remained in circulation but were often clipped or debased. Furthermore, the ongoing war disrupted trade and agricultural production, the traditional economic base of the kingdom, severely reducing the state's ability to back its currency with real wealth. The simultaneous circulation of multiple coinages of dubious and fluctuating value created a chaotic environment for commerce, eroding public trust in the currency system.

Ultimately, the currency crisis of 1707 reflected the precarious position of Rákóczi’s rebellion. While the minting of independent coinage was a powerful political symbol of sovereignty, the economic realities of a protracted war made a stable monetary policy impossible. The inflationary spiral undermined the war economy and contributed to the growing financial exhaustion that would eventually lead to the rebellion's collapse, demonstrating how the fate of the currency was inextricably tied to the military and political success of the independence movement.