4 Skilling Lybsk - Christian IV Wire money

Christian IV introduced klippemønt — crudely cut square or irregular coin blanks struck from wire or rod stock — as an emergency measure during the prolonged financial strain of the Kalmar War and its aftermath. These pieces were never intended as a long-term monetary solution; they were fast, cheap to produce, and deeply unpopular with the public, who associated irregular coinage with debasement and desperation. Merchants frequently discounted them against properly struck round coin.

The Lange reference places this squarely among the documented Copenhagen output, though attribution of individual specimens can be complicated by the informal production method itself — die alignment and centering were essentially irrelevant when the blank was already irregular.