1/2 Stüber - William V

William V — "the Rich," a title that aged poorly — spent much of his reign navigating the fractious religious divisions of the lower Rhine territories while his treasury was perpetually strained by the costs of maintaining autonomy between Habsburg and Protestant pressure. These small subsidiary silver pieces were struck to meet the chronic shortage of low-denomination coinage across Jülich-Kleve-Berg, a problem that plagued the united duchies throughout the second half of the sixteenth century. The Noss classification remains the standard reference for this series, with Be#282 among the more precisely documented of the half-stüber types.