1 Thaler - Leopold V

Leopold V ruled Upper Alsace as a prince-bishop holding both secular and ecclesiastical authority simultaneously — an arrangement that became increasingly untenable during the opening years of the Thirty Years' War. These thalers were struck precisely when the conflict was destabilizing the entire monetary system of the Holy Roman Empire, a period when the Kipper- und Wipperzeit currency crisis saw debased coins flooding regional markets. Leopold's silver issues were among the more honest pieces circulating in the region.

The KLEM reference numbers span an unusually wide range, reflecting numerous die combinations produced across the four-year window — this type is far less monolithic than its single catalog listing suggests.