Ferdinand II was born in July 1578 in Graz, as the oldest son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria and Princess Anna Maria of Bavaria. Very few of his 15 siblings remained, many barely lived 20 years.  His father died in 1590. At the time, the barely 17 year old Ferdinand couldn't yet take over the throne, since according to the ruler's will, he could only contuine to govern once he turned 18. Archduke Ernest was appointed as his guardian. In 1596, he set about managing his provinces. He proclaimed a counterreformation, which entailed many victims, so many people left Ferdinand's estates there. The Habsburgs generally strove for unified, centralized empire, and tried to build absolutist frameworks as much as possible. But the archduke didn't want to maintain this order, so in 1627 he gave the Czech Republic a new constitution, thereby renewing the old rights as well. Since in the House of Habsburg Rudolf II, The Holy Roman Emperor and Matthias were also left without a succesor, and Ferdinand was designated as the heir to the throne. In 1617, he was first crowned Czech and then Hungarian king on May 18, 1618. In 1619, he finally received the title of German-Roman Emperor. Meanwhile, the Thirty Years' War had already been going on for a year. In 1621 Ferdinand II and Gabriel Bethlen concluded the Nikolsburg Peace. In exchange, 7 Hungarian counties were rejoined to Transylvania and Bethlen received the title of hereditary imperial duke. In his last year, in 1636, he chose his son, Ferdinand III as his succesor and died in Vienna in 1637.

II. Ferdinand (1618-1637) was a member of the Habsburg dynasty, emperor of the Habsburg Empire, king of Bohemia and Hungary. When Ferdinand ascended the throne, monarchs traditionally minted their own coins to mark their rule and power. However, Ferdinand's coins were minted in Bohemia and other areas where he was recognized as king or ruler. The money was in circulation in many areas of the Habsburg Empire. II. Ferdinand initially minted gold and silver coins. Gold coins included the crown (crown gold) and the Spanish centurion, which appeared in different denominations. Silver coins included the thaler (tálor), the crown, and the Austrian crown, which were in circulation in various weights and denominations. These coins often depicted II. Ferdinand's portrait or coats of arms. In the 1619s, when the Thirty Years' War was raging during Ferdinand's reign, the coinage ran into difficulties. Due to war and instability, many areas struggled with independence aspirations and financial problems, which also affected the coinage. During this period, some areas minted their own coins, on which II. Instead of Ferdinand's portrait or coats of arms, the local rulers or symbols were visible. II. During Ferdinand's reign, money appeared in different versions and denominations. Due to the Thirty Years' War and the economic challenges of the time, the monetary system was unstable and coinage practices changed many times.