Kipper- und Wipperzeit (Theme module 'Der Dreißigjährige Krieg').

Claims Supported by This Source

1. The rapid currency devaluation of 1619–1623 is called the (Great) Kipper- und Wipperzeit. The name comes from the practice of using a quick balance (Schnell-Waage), widely used at the time, to 'Kippen' and 'Wippen' (tip and seesaw) to sort out coins with high precious metal content, melt them down, add copper, lead, and tin, and remint them into low-grade 'Kippergeld'.
2. The main cause was that the Imperial Monetary Ordinances (Esslingen 1524, Augsburg 1551 and 1559) set a Münzfuß (minting standard) that was too high for small coins. Minting costs reached about 0.6% of face value for gold coins, but a quarter of face value for small coins, making the minting of small coins unprofitable. It was stopped in various places, and at the same time, the minting of low-grade small coins spread.
3. In Württemberg, Duke Johann Friedrich established new mints in Berg (now Stuttgart-Berg) and Tübingen to meet the demand for Kipper coins that existing mints could not supply. The illustration shows a Hirschgulden of 1623 from the Stuttgart-Berg mint (Landesmuseum Württemberg).
4. The debasement accelerated when minting authorities began leasing out mints to avoid being associated with low-grade coins. This was forbidden by imperial law. The contracted mint masters were only interested in profits and rent, and continued to lower the fineness.
5. Due to tensions at the outbreak of the war, the conflicting Imperial Estates could not carry out a joint monetary reform. Minting authorities also lowered the fineness of high-denomination coins and intensified silver mining to finance the war. The Emperor also joined in currency speculation, and illegal, low-grade Heckenmünzen (hedge coins) spread over a wide area of the Empire.
6. The blow mainly affected residents on fixed incomes, and numerous pamphlets were produced. The chronicle of the Ulm shoemaker Hans Heberle notes for the year 1622: ‘It was light and false money, and it did not last. At first it was as beautiful as pure silver, but after three, four, five, or at most eight weeks, it wore off and became red like copper.’ ‘The poor had to endure hunger and hardship with their wives and children. Just because of the money, everything a person needed to live was terribly expensive.’ (Heberle, Bl. 11–12 / S. 98–100).
7. The bad money returned to the lords as taxes and tributes. Peasants refused to hand over their produce for devalued money, and mercenaries demanded payment in good coin. The profits from minting were offset, and as an empire-wide measure, the legally mandated collection and reminting of low-grade coins continued, effectively stopping inflation.
8. Bibliography: Christmann 1988, Numismatische Kommission der Länder 2023 (DOI 10.11588/arthistoricum.1208), Freytag, Gerhard 1993, Kindleberger 1991, Klüßendorf 2009, Leins 2012 (Prague Mint Consortium 1622/23), Ohm 2015, Rosseaux 2001, Roth 1993, Sauer 2012, Schneider 1995, 2007, 2009, Weisenstein 1991.

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