Catalog
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| Issuer | Austrian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1621-1623 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | KM#256, Her#1019-1022 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | FERDI II D G R (Λ) I S A G H B REX |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Kipper und Wipperzeit — "the clipping and see-sawing time" — was a currency catastrophe that swept the Holy Roman Empire between roughly 1619 and 1623, driven by princes and mint operators who debased coinage to fund the opening campaigns of the Thirty Years' War. Ferdinand II's Vienna mint was among the many imperial operations that slashed silver content to extract seigniorage, flooding markets with underweight billon pieces while better coins vanished into hoards. The economic disruption was severe enough to trigger grain riots and market collapses across central Europe before the debasement finally collapsed under its own weight in 1623.