1 Pfennig

Berlin and Kölln were twin cities straddling the Spree — legally distinct municipalities that shared a mint and, by 1621, a deepening fiscal crisis driven by the Kipper- und Wipperzeit, the catastrophic currency debasement that swept the German states in the opening years of the Thirty Years' War. Small copper pfennig issues like this one filled the void left as silver coinage was systematically debased and hoarded. At 0.31 grams, this piece was struck light even by the standards of the moment.