1 Pfennig - Louis the Pious

Württemberg's pfennig coinage of this period was a direct casualty of the Kipper- und Wipperzeit's precursors — the slow, grinding debasement of small silver that plagued the southwestern German territories throughout the second half of the sixteenth century. Duke Ludwig, who ruled from 1568 until his death in 1593, inherited a monetary system already under pressure from coin-clipping, imitation issues from neighboring mints, and the chronic shortage of small change that made even modest market transactions difficult.

The .313 fineness places this squarely in the billon category — more copper than silver by any honest accounting.