24 Kreuzer - Ferdinand II Schweidnitz

Schweidnitz struck this coin during the Kipper- und Wipperzeit, the monetary crisis that swept the Holy Roman Empire between roughly 1619 and 1623. Cities, princes, and ecclesiastical authorities across the Empire debased their coinage aggressively to profit from the chaos, flooding markets with underweight silver pieces before the inevitable collapse in exchange rates. Schweidnitz, a Silesian city under Habsburgs rule, was no exception.

The 24 Kreuzer denomination — sometimes called the "Kipperkipper" by contemporaries — was among the most abused of the crisis issues. By 1622, the coin's actual silver content bore almost no relationship to its face value.