6 Mariengroschen - Rudolph August

Rudolph August ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1666 following a bitter succession dispute with his own brother, Anton Ulrich, who was effectively sidelined from co-rule until 1685. The Mariengroschen — named for the Virgin Mary, a denomination with roots in Lower Saxony reaching back to the mid-fifteenth century — was the workhorse of everyday commerce in the region throughout the later seventeenth century. The fourteen-year emission span of this type reflects monetary stability unusual for a period when the broader Empire was still reorganizing its coinage practices in the aftermath of the Kipper und Wipper debasement crisis of the early 1620s.