Stolberg-Stolberg was one of several co-ruling lines produced by the relentless partition of the Stolberg comital holdings across the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Christof Friedrich and Jost Christian were brothers ruling jointly under the terms of their inheritance — a dynastic arrangement that left the county perpetually undergoverned and financially constrained. That two counts had to share a single small territory in the Harz foothills tells you something about the fiscal reality behind this issue.
The long date range reflects continued striking from the same dies rather than annual reissues — a common economy in small German states where new die preparation was an expense weighed carefully against coin demand.
Stolberg-Stolberg was one of several co-ruling lines produced by the relentless partition of the Stolberg comital holdings across the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Christof Friedrich and Jost Christian were brothers ruling jointly under the terms of their inheritance — a dynastic arrangement that left the county perpetually undergoverned and financially constrained. That two counts had to share a single small territory in the Harz foothills tells you something about the fiscal reality behind this issue.
The long date range reflects continued striking from the same dies rather than annual reissues — a common economy in small German states where new die preparation was an expense weighed carefully against coin demand.