King Louis I of Bavaria, full name Lajos Károly Ágost (German: Ludwig Karl August), was born on August 25, 1786 in Strasbourg and died on February 29, 1868 in Nice. He came from the Palatinate-Zweibrücken branch of the Wittelsbach house, his father IV. József Miksa was a Bavarian Elector, then King of Bavaria under the name Miksa I, and his mother was Augustus Vilma, Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. He reigned in Bavaria from 1825 to 1848, and he is credited with developing the city of Munich into an art center. During his reign, the city was the site of major constructions and he founded many art institutions. He was known as a liberal German patriot, but after coming to power he followed a more conservative line. His wife was Princess Terézia Sarolta of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and two more kings were born among their children: II. Miksa of Bavaria and King Otto I of Greece. Louis I abdicated in 1848, and his son, II. Miksa came to the Bavarian throne. He lived as a private person, but remained a great supporter of the arts. He died in 1868 in Nice, where he spent the winter. His body was laid to rest in the St. Boniface Abbey in Munich, next to his wife, Queen Theresia, who has been resting there since 1857. I. Louis' life and reign were characterized by his passion for the arts and his openness to political and social changes, which had a significant impact on the history of Bavaria and Europe.

Louis I ascended the throne in 1825 after his father, Miksa I, abdicated. Louis was an art-supporting king who made the city of Munich the artistic center of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Louis' coinage used the Bavarian forint, which was introduced in 1806 as the unified currency of the Confederation of the Rhine. The Bavarian forint was equivalent to 60 kreuzers and was made of gold, silver, copper and billon. Louis' coins usually featured the king's portrait, coat of arms, name and year of reign. The back of the coins often shows the Bavarian lion, the coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach, or the Bavarian flag. I. Louis's coinage lasted until the introduction of the German gold mark in 1873, when Bavaria joined the German Empire. The Bavarian forint was converted into a gold mark at a ratio of 1:1.75.I. King Louis coins are rare today and have a high collector value. Coins came in different sizes, shapes, and weights, depending on the metal alloy they were made of and their value.