4 Groschen - Rudolph

Anhalt-Zerbst's 1621 output falls squarely within the Kipper und Wipperzeit — the currency debasement crisis that swept the Holy Roman Empire during the opening years of the Thirty Years' War. Petty princes, free cities, and episcopal mints alike raced to produce overvalued, underweight small silver, then dump the proceeds into neighbouring territories before the system collapsed. Zerbst was no exception. The "Rudolph" type here refers to Rudolf of Anhalt-Zerbst, who died in 1621, the same year this coin was struck.