7 Schilling - John Frederick I Kipper, Siebenschillinger

Issued at the height of the Kipper- und Wipperzeit — the catastrophic currency debasement crisis that swept the Holy Roman Empire between roughly 1619 and 1623 — this piece belongs to one of the most chaotic monetary episodes in German history. Municipal and territorial mints across the Empire raced to produce debased small coinage, clipping bullion content while maintaining face values, then dumping the coins into neighboring territories before the fraud became apparent. Württemberg was no exception.

John Frederick I authorized extensive Kipper coinage to cover mounting debts, including war contributions demanded under the pressures preceding the Thirty Years' War. Many such issues were repudiated outright within years of striking.