Klippe — square or diamond-shaped planchets — were typically struck during sieges when round blanks were unavailable, or as deliberate prestige pieces. Rietberg's 1618 issue falls in the latter category: the county, a small Imperial fief in Westphalia, produced klippe coinage as ceremonial or presentation currency, not as emergency money. The timing is significant. 1618 is the year the Thirty Years' War began, and minor Westphalian territories suddenly had strong reasons to assert their autonomy and minting rights before the conflict consumed them.
At 15 grams for a single Schilling, the weight far exceeds what that denomination would normally demand — confirming this was never intended as everyday exchange.
Klippe — square or diamond-shaped planchets — were typically struck during sieges when round blanks were unavailable, or as deliberate prestige pieces. Rietberg's 1618 issue falls in the latter category: the county, a small Imperial fief in Westphalia, produced klippe coinage as ceremonial or presentation currency, not as emergency money. The timing is significant. 1618 is the year the Thirty Years' War began, and minor Westphalian territories suddenly had strong reasons to assert their autonomy and minting rights before the conflict consumed them.
At 15 grams for a single Schilling, the weight far exceeds what that denomination would normally demand — confirming this was never intended as everyday exchange.