12 Kreuzers

Hohnstein's 1620 twelve kreuzer issue falls squarely within the Kipper- und Wipperzeit — the catastrophic currency debasement crisis that swept the Holy Roman Empire between roughly 1619 and 1623. Minor territories across the Empire exploited the monetary chaos by striking overvalued small silver coins, then spending them before recipients could react to the discrepancy. Hohnstein, a small county in the Harz region, was among the opportunists.

The Kraaz collection reference for this type documents it as genuinely scarce today, which is somewhat paradoxical given how aggressively such coins were minted during the period.