12 Kreuzer

Weissenburg's 12 Kreuzer of 1622 belongs to the flood of emergency municipal coinage that swept German cities during the Kipper- und Wipperzeit, the currency crisis of roughly 1618–1623 in which mints across the Holy Roman Empire systematically debased their silver issues to exploit fixed exchange rates. Cities and minor authorities that had rarely struck coins suddenly found it profitable — briefly — to issue heavily debased small denominations before the scheme collapsed and monetary chaos ensued. Weissenburg was among the smaller Franconian free cities swept into this episode.