2 Kipper Pfennig - Ferdinand II St Veit

The Kipper und Wipper period (roughly 1619–1623) was one of the most destructive currency crises in European history, driven largely by the financial demands of the Thirty Years' War. Mints across the Holy Roman Empire — including Ferdinand II's operation at St. Veit in Carinthia — debased coinage aggressively, flooding circulation with low-silver billon pieces while hoarding the good metal for war finance. Ordinary people bore the loss as exchange rates collapsed and merchants refused the coins outright.

1623 marks the tail end of the crisis, as imperial edicts finally forced a revaluation. Coins struck at St. Veit that year were among the last of the Kipper issues before the restoration.