The Bavarians emerged in a region north of the Alps, originally inhabited by the Celts, which had been part of the Romanprovinces of Rhaetia and Noricum. The name "Bavarian" means "Men of Baia" which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Marcomanni, they first appear in written sources circa 520. 

When Napoleon abolished the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806. Between 1799 and 1817 the leading minister count Montgelas followed a strict policy of modernisa-tion and laid the foundations of administrative structures that survived even the monarchy and are (in their core) valid until today. In 1818 a modern constitution was passed, but was valid until the collapse of the monarchy at the end of the First World War.

The pfennig is a former German coin, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. 

Bavaria used the South German gulden as its currency until 1873. Between 1754 and 1837 it was a unit of account, worth 5⁄12 of a Conventionsthaler, used to denominate banknotes but not issued as a coin.

While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, it lost its value through the years and was the minor coin of the Mark currencies in the German Reich, West Germany and East Germany, and the reunified Germany.

Before the middle of the 19th century, Germany was divided into different principalities and states, such as Prussia, Hamburg, Saxony, and Bavaria. Their currencies included the Hamburg frame, the Prussian thaler, the North German thaler in Saxony, and the South German gulden in Bavaria. 

In many of these states, these coins were replaced by the Vereinsthaler. When German unification was completed on January 18, 1871, the need arose to create a new currency for the entire nation and the central bank. As a result, the German Gold Mark and the Reichsbank as a central bank emerge. This was Germany's currency until the outbreak of World War I.

The last pfennig coins containing traces of silver are rarities minted in 1805. Effectively, by the end of the 17th century the pfennig had been reduced to a pure copper coin. In the 18th century, some German mints minted copper and billonpfennigs at around the same time. From the middle of the 18th century, however, the proportion of billon coins compared to pure copper pfennig coins tended to decrease, which was also reflected in the 2 to 4 pfennig coins. 

Until 1821, various smaller coin systems were in use in the Prussian provinces. Only in the provinces of Brandenburg and Westphalia was the pfennig the smallest coin in terms of value. With the Prussian small coin reform of 1821, a uniform small coin system was introduced for all Prussian provinces. To distinguish it from the pfennigs before the reform, the new denomination was called Pfenning. One thaler was no longer 288 pfennigs, but 360 Pfennings. This new ratio was also reflected on the side with the coat of arms: 360 EINEN THALER. Other states, such as Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, minted 1½ pfennig coins well into the 19th century.

Maximilian II (1811 – 1864) reigned as King of Bavaria between 1848 and 1864.

Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm 1845 – 1886), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. 

OBVERSE: Crowned shield within wreath

REVERSE: Inscription, Year and Value. 

Lettering: SCHEIDEMÜNZE 2 PFENNING 1870

EDGE: Smooth

Mintage in 1870 476 000

Country                        Kingdom of Bavaria (German States) 

King                              Maximilian II (1848-1864)

King                                Ludwig II (1864-1886) 

Type                            Standard circulation coin

Years                           1858-1871

Value                           2 Pfennigs 

Currency                    Gulden (1857-1873)

Composition                 Copper

Weight                           2.4 g

Diameter                    20 mm

Thickness                    1 mm

Shape                        Round

Orientation                    Medal alignment ↑↑

Demonetized                   Yes

References                KM# 857, AKS# 184