Bohemia, Maley Gross (Small Gross) clipped flan, Rudolf II. 1593 and 1584 AD.
OBV: MALEY GROSS 1584 (or 1593), crowned R above between leafed branches.
R: RVDOL.II.DG (S) R.I.S.A.H.B.R.RE, Czech lion rampant left.

This, a small silver coin, minted in the years 1577–1619 under the reign of the Habsburg emperor Rudolf (1576–1611) and his brother Matthias (1611–1619), is the only! coin in circulation in Czech history to have had its name, MALEY GROSS or MALEI GROSS, marked upon it in the Czech language (the Latin alphabet was commonly used, as was German to some extent). It remains an interesting fact that the name used to express the coin value literally means the “Small Large”; the word MALEY meaning small in Czech and the word Gross meaning large in Latin. This title aims to emphasize the decrease in the face value of the Gross (see the Prague Gross).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Rudolf II von Habsburg was an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, king of Bohemia, and king of Hungary.

He was born in Vienna on July 18, 1552, and died in Prague on January 20, 1612. His father was Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Bohemia, king of Hungary; his mother was Maria, a daughter of Charles V.

Rudolf was the first son and successor of Maximillian. Acceding to the Habsburg lands, he reversed his father's tolerant policy toward Protestantism and gave assistance to the Counter-Reformation. Although Rudolf was a learned man, he was incapable of ruling because he was plagued by melancholy and later became subject to occasional fits of insanity. Other members of his family began to intervene in imperial affairs.

Following a revolt in Hungary (1604-6) by Stephen Bocskay and his Ottoman allies, most of the actual ruling power passed to Rudolf's brother Matthias; the revolt was provoked by Rudolf's attempt to impose Roman Catholicism in Hungary. In 1608, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him. Seeking to gain the support of the Bohemian estates, Rudolf issued a royal charter called the Majestät in 1609 that guaranteed religious freedom to the nobles and cities. This effort was in vain, and Rudolf was forced to give up Bohemia to Matthias in 1611. Rudolf's turbulent reign was a prelude to the Thirty Years' War.

Rudolf II was one of the most eccentric European monarchs of that or any other period. Rudolf collected dwarfs and had a regiment of giants in his army. He was surrounded by astrologers, and he was fascinated by games and codes and music. He was typical of the occult-oriented noblemen of this period and epitomized the liberated northern European prince. He was a patron of alchemy and supported the printing of alchemical literature.