Tipper and See-Saw Time
Tipper and See-Saw Time (German: Kipper- und Wipperzeit) is name given to a financial crisis during the start of the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Starting in 1600, city-states in the Holy Roman Empire began to debase currency in order to raise revenue for the Thirty Years' War, as effective taxation did not exist.
The debasement spread from Germany to Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland and Russia.
What is interesting about this financial crisis is that specie (metal coin) was debased, not paper money. In contrast, the "Tulip Mania" of 1636–37 related to speculation in the value of tulip bulbs.
More and more mints were established until the debased metal coins were so worthless that children played with them in the street, which became the basis for the short story by Leo Tolstoy "Ivan the Fool".
[edit] References
- Kindleberger, Charles P. (1978), Manias, Panics and Crashes. A History of Financial, New York, ISBN 0465043801
- Dool, Donald H. (December 2001), "Coppers hail from kipper und wipper period", World Coin News: 34–38
[edit] External links
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