1 Groschen - Frederick Ulrich

Frederick Ulrich's reign over Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was marked by administrative incompetence severe enough that the Estates effectively wrested control of the duchy from him for extended periods — the coins issued under his name often reflect the output of a mint operating with more institutional than ducal authority. This groschen dates to the opening year of the Thirty Years' War, when small silver currency across the German states was already under pressure from the Kipper- und Wipperzeit debasing wave that would accelerate ruinously through 1621–23.

At 0.83g, this piece sits at the lighter end of what the denomination was still being struck at before debasement collapsed standards entirely.