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3 Pfennig
| Issuer | Kamenz, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1622 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the arms of Kamenz — a stylized eagle's head or bird device with pronounced plumage fanning to the right, rendered in high relief in the crude hammered style typical of early 17th-century German municipal copper coinage. Two large globular pellets appear prominently to the left of the central charge, likely representing orbs or decorative elements of the city arms. The denomination numeral and abbreviation '3 PF' appear in the lower field beneath the central device, serving as the principal inscription. The design is contained within a raised circular border. The overall style is characteristic of emergency or small-change civic coinage of the Kipper und Wipper period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Kamenz issued this copper pfennig during the catastrophic monetary debasement known as the Kipper- und Wipperzeit — roughly 1619 to 1623 — when scores of minor German states, cities, and lordships exploited the fragmented Holy Roman monetary system by minting severely debased coinage. The crisis was partly self-perpetuating: as bad money drove out good, even previously sound issuers were forced to debase simply to keep currency in local circulation.
Kamenz, a modest Saxon town in Upper Lusatia, was under Bohemian crown authority at the time, a jurisdiction that changed hands to Saxony in 1635 under the Peace of Prague.