Hohnstein 1620 12 kreuzer KM-20

Stack's Bowers 2023 NYINC sale, lot 41391

This specimen was lot 41391 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $216. The catalog description^[1] noted, "GERMANY. Hohnstein. 12 Kreuzer (Kipper), 1620. Uncertain Mint. Friedrich Ulrich (of Brunswick). PCGS MS-63. From the Robert C. Knepper Collection." The county of Hohnstein was a minor state, neighbor of Stolberg, Eichsfeld and Schwarzburg. The local dynasty fell extinct in 1593. The state was ruled by Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1613-34 and Sayn-Wittgenstein 1634-1701. It was later partitioned between Hannover and Prussia. The kipperzeit of 1618-23 saw the minor coinage of Germany inflated by about seven or eight to one as the princes of the empire geared up for the Thirty Years War. Some claim this inflationary period wreaked more havoc than the marching, fighting and pillaging of the armies. The duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel seems to have been an enthusiastic participant as we see dozens of varieties of kipper 12 and 24 kreuzer in the listings, including KM 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 39. The duke carefully did not tamper with the major coins, the thaler and the ducat, perhaps to avoid antagonizing the wealthier classes who used those denominations. He also likely issued these in the name of the county of Hohnstein to maintain distance between himself and the proceedings.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, likely debased.

Catalog reference: KM-20.

Source:

Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.

Link to:

Hohnstein 1620 12 kreuzer KM-20

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