The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II was born as a member of the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1552. He reigned in Austria from 1576 until his death, then in Hungary from 1577 and from 1578 he became German-Roman Emperor of the Habsburgs. During his reign, the country's economy and culture flourished, and one of the most important buildings in the Austrian capital, Vienna, the Hofburg Palace, was built during his reign. However, his politics were colored by the fact that he had to face religious strife and was forced to use violent measures against Protestants who were becoming more and more radical. He is often referred to as the "Melancholic Emperor" as he was famous for his depression and emotional lability. In addition to his duties as a ruler, he showed great interest in the sciences and the arts and supported the cultural and professional initiatives that kept the development of Vienna under their control. However, his reign ultimately failed. He made a fatal decision when he placed the two largest Austrian provinces, Upper and Lower Austria, under the authority of his brother Matthias. This measure caused internal conflict among the Habsburgs, and eventually Matthias managed to gain full control of the inheritance. Rudolph committed suicide in 1612. He died without an heir, so Matthias took over the rule in Austria and the German-Roman Empire.

Rudolf (1552-1612) was a member of the Habsburg dynasty and Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia from 1576 to 1608. During his reign, minting played an important role in the economic life of the respective areas. In royal Hungary, particularly beautiful coins were produced during Rudolf's reign. During Rudolf's reign, different types of coins were minted, which were valid in different regions. The aim of the coinage was to promote trade and maintain economic stability. Most of the money came from the Körmöcbány mint, but there were also mints in Nagybány, Bratislava and Kassa. The minting of gold forints and denars showed continuity with the Hungarian monetary system before Mohács. The mints continued to produce the coins mostly by hand. It is characteristic of the era that a significant amount of gold and silver coins were circulated under Rudolf. The coins generally followed the European coinage traditions of the time and depicted the monarch's portrait as well as the family coat of arms or other symbols. During the Hungarian coinage, Rudolf usually minted the gold forint and the silver thaler. The gold forints were larger, the silver thalers were of more varied denominations, and there were several different types of them.