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12 Kreuzer - Frederick Ulrich Kipper
| Issuer | Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1619 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Double-headed imperial eagle displayed, with spread wings and the numeral 12 in an orb or roundel at the center of the eagle's breast, denoting the denomination of 12 Kreuzer. The legend references Emperor Matthias I with his titles as Holy Roman Emperor. The inscription encircles the eagle along the outer border of the coin. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
This coin is a product of the Kipper- und Wipperzeit — the "clipper and see-saw time" — a monetary catastrophe that swept the Holy Roman Empire between roughly 1618 and 1623, in which territorial mints competitively debased their coinage to extract seigniorage profit while the Thirty Years' War drained public finances. Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel under Frederick Ulrich was among the many principalities that participated aggressively, issuing inflated-denomination coins on drastically underweight, base-silver flans. At 2.4 g for a 12 Kreuzer piece, the metal content was a fraction of what the face value implied.
Frederick Ulrich himself was a weak ruler, frequently manipulated by his court, and the mint policy during his reign was effectively driven by financial opportunists rather than ducal strategy.