3 Kreuzers - John Christopher of Westerstetten

John Christopher of Westerstetten governed Eichstätt during one of the most monetarily chaotic episodes in German history — the Kipper- und Wipperzeit, a currency crisis of 1619–1623 in which mints across the Holy Roman Empire raced to debase coinage, clip bullion, and flood circulation with underweight small silver. This 3 Kreuzer falls squarely within that window. Eichstätt, a small ecclesiastical principality with limited economic weight, was nonetheless minting aggressively alongside its neighbors, many of whom were exploiting the chaos for short-term fiscal gain.

Westerstetten himself was better known as a zealous promoter of witch trials in the region than as a monetary reformer.