Sayn-Altenkirchen was a small Protestant county in the Westerwald that passed to the Palatinate-Simmern line through inheritance in 1648 — the same year the Peace of Westphalia reshaped the political map of the Holy Roman Empire entirely. John William, as count, held the right to strike coin under imperial privilege, though the county's output was modest and geographically limited in circulation. The 15 Kreuzer denomination was a workhorse of late 17th-century German trade, filling the gap between the small copper pfennig and the larger Thaler.
KM#9 is among the scarcer issues from this county's brief minting period.
Sayn-Altenkirchen was a small Protestant county in the Westerwald that passed to the Palatinate-Simmern line through inheritance in 1648 — the same year the Peace of Westphalia reshaped the political map of the Holy Roman Empire entirely. John William, as count, held the right to strike coin under imperial privilege, though the county's output was modest and geographically limited in circulation. The 15 Kreuzer denomination was a workhorse of late 17th-century German trade, filling the gap between the small copper pfennig and the larger Thaler.
KM#9 is among the scarcer issues from this county's brief minting period.