The Monetary Movements of 1600–1621 in Holland and Germany

Claims Supported by This Source

1. The Empire had no central authority to issue binding laws or edicts; Germany dealt with the issue through districts (Kreis) and monetary conventions and assay assemblies (Münz-Probationstag) of neighboring princes. Source: Hirsch, "Reichs-Münz-Archiv," vol. 9 (pp.189–190).
2. If two coins considered equivalent in face value have different silver content, a profit can be made by minting the cheaper one, exchanging it for the better one, melting the good coin, and striking it again into the cheaper coin. This cycle only stops when the exchange rate is revised, eliminating the profit margin, or when the good coins run out (pp.191–192).
3. 1592-06-10: Edict of Rudolf II to the three circles of Franconia, Bavaria, and Swabia: complains of fraudulent minting, the breaking, buying up, exporting, and price increase of good coins, the influx of foreign bad coins, the rise in price of all goods and necessities, and the oppression of the poor common people (pp.202–203).
4. At the 1595 assay, 3 Kreuzer, half Batzen, and Kreuzer coins were 15-25% below their official value; in 1596, 43% below. 1596-08-08: Emperor's monetary ordinance. In 1604, 3 Kreuzer and half Batzen coins were on average 18-26% below. At the 1607 Nuremberg assay, the 6 Kreuzer coin of the city of Frankfurt was about 37% below the imperial standard, the Duke of Teschen's 27%, the Count Palatine's 30%, and the Counts of Solms' 31-34%. By 1609, the list of debasers exceeded 20 (pp.204–207).
5. Records are scarce for 1610-1618, and debasement proceeded unchecked. In 1615, the Franconian Circle attempted to lower the premium on good coins. In May 1618, the three upper circles in Nuremberg stated they could only hope to "prevent the occurrence of extreme debasement." The only monetary convention in 1619 was one by the Upper Saxon Circle in May. The start of the Thirty Years' War was the signal. Thereafter, records are scarce besides exchange rate tables for good coins and satirical songs (p.207).
6. The generalization of debasement began around 1596 and peaked in 1620-23. The causes were administrative fragmentation and the change in the relative value of precious metals after the discovery of the New World. Countries with strong central power and control over minting rights were spared from catastrophe. The princes and cities with minting rights were countless, and many leased their minting rights to irresponsible contractors (p.202).
7. Exchange rates for good coins in the Margraviate of Brandenburg (Fidicin, "Geschichte der Stadt Berlin," p.494): Ducat 1620: 3 fl 12 kr → 1621: 6 fl → 1622: 16 fl. Goldgulden: 2 fl 20 kr → 5 fl → 12 fl. Philippsthaler: 2 fl 15 kr → 5 fl → 12 fl. Reichsthaler: 2 fl 4 kr → 4 fl → 10 fl. Guldenthaler: 1 fl 50 kr → 3½ fl → 9 fl (p.208).
8. Thaler exchange rates in Hamburg (Soetbeer, "Denkschrift über Hamburgs Münzverhältnisse," p.7. In Schilling and Pfennig): 1614-12: 37 s 6 d, 1615-08: 38 s 9 d, 1616-01: 41 s, 1616-08: 41 s, 1617-04: 40 s 6 d, 1617-08: 41 s 6 d, 1617-09: 42 s, 1617-11: 42 s, 1618-07: 42 s 6 d, 1618-09: 43 s, 1618-11: 44 s, 1619-09: 46 s 6 d, 1619-10: 48 s, 1620-08: 52 s, 1621-02: 53 s, 1621-03: 54 s 6 d, 1621-05: 54 s, 1622-05: 48 s (p.208).
9. Exchange rate table for Guldenthaler and Goldgulden for the entire Empire (Hirsch v.494) 1582-1623: Guldenthaler 1582: 1 fl 0 kr, 1606: 1 fl 4 kr, 1609-06-15: 1 fl 14 kr, 1615-11-17: 1 fl 30 kr, 1618-05-15: 1 fl 22 kr, 1619-10-20: 1 fl 36 kr, 1619-12-23: 1 fl 45 kr, 1620-11-09: 2 fl 0 kr, 1621-02: 2 fl 6 kr, 1621-05-25: 2 fl 24 kr, 1621-08: 3 fl 30 kr, 1621-09: 4 fl 0 kr, 1621-10: 4 fl 24 kr, 1621-11: 4 fl 45 kr, 1621-12: 5 fl 30 kr, 1622-01-18: 6 fl 30 kr, 1622-02: 8 fl 30 kr, 1622-03: 8 fl 30 kr, 1622-03-12: 5 fl 18 kr, 1622-06-16: 2 fl 52 kr, 1623-04: 1 fl 20 kr. Goldgulden: 1582: 1 fl 15 kr → 1622-02: 12 fl 0 kr → 1623-04: 1 fl 42 kr. The table repeatedly shows the same 2 fl 52 kr (Goldgulden 3 fl 40 kr) for 1621-05-31, 07-20, 07-29, 08-10, 12-20 and 1622-06-16, but Shaw does not explain its nature (p.209).
10. The founding of the Bank of Hamburg (1619) and the Bank of Nuremberg (1621) is directly attributed to the evils of the Kipper- und Wipper-Zeit. For the unrest in Magdeburg in 1622, it cites Sybel's Historische Zeitschrift 1866 (p. 208 and note 3).
11. The name of the period is believed to derive from a contemporary satirical song. The 1621 song "Wachtelgesang" sings: "In our village they call them Kipper, and neighbor Hans says they are Wipper. They seek out good old gold, carry it to the mint, and turn good silver into more than three-quarters copper." It continues: "To buy beer and bread, one must hunt for Groschen, and cannot get them without adding a 20% premium that was not needed before. The Dreier and Pfennig have also disappeared" (pp. 210–212). It lists the titles of three contemporary songs (1621; reprinted in Frankfurt in 1885) and those held by the British Museum (pp. 210–211).
12. In September 1597, an imperial commissioner in Frankfurt stated that bad Pfennigs from the Rhineland were being forced into large payments "by Christians and Jews," and that a 12–13% premium was required to exchange them for good currency (p. 205). In 1599, the Upper Saxon Circle noted that Reichsthalers were being transported to Poland via Silesia and Austria, where they were restruck into bad Dutchen and then returned (p. 206, note).
13. The city of Amsterdam banned money changers and the use of bills of exchange by an ordinance of 1608-07-15, and established the Wisselbank (Bank of Exchange) on 1609-01-31. However, the appreciation of currency (the Rijksdaalder rose from 2 fl 7 st in 1606 to 2 fl 10 st in 1619) did not stop, and in 1621, private bankers were officially recognized (pp. 193–198).

How to read the verification levels. "Read Through" means the source was read in its entirety. "Bibliography & Abstract Read" means the bibliographic information and abstract were confirmed. "Via Course Material" means the source was referenced through the textbook or course text. The "Text Hash" is the SHA-256 of the main text from the publisher's page, excluding tags and whitespace, used to detect if the source has been modified.