1 Thaler

Kempten was among the smallest of the Free Imperial Cities, and its thalers from this period reflect the peculiar minting privilege granted to cities of minimal political weight. The late 1530s were the height of Reformation tensions in the Swabian region; Kempten had officially adopted Lutheranism in 1527, putting it at odds with the powerful Kempten Abbey that shared — and contested — the city's territory for centuries. A city minting its own thaler during this period was making a statement about autonomous authority as much as economic necessity.

The Davenport reference GT I#9359 places this among the earliest thaler-sized issues from Kempten, a short-lived series.