1/2 Kreuzer - Wolfgang William

Wolfgang Wilhelm converted to Catholicism in 1613 — a calculated move to secure his inheritance of Jülich-Berg following the disputed succession crisis that had nearly triggered a major European war three years earlier. His half-kreuzer issues of the 1620s fall squarely within the Kipper und Wipperzeit, the currency debasement crisis that swept the Empire between roughly 1619 and 1623, though by 1624 most territories were attempting restabilization. That this piece is silver at all speaks to the post-Kipper recovery period rather than the chaos that preceded it.