This story begins in the mid-1500s when Jews, expelled from Spain and Portugal during the inquisitions of the late 1400s, found refuge and eventually established a significant presence in Amsterdam. Over time, they played a key role in shaping Europe's financial landscape, including the creation of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1602 and the establishment of the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609. These institutions became models for future financial systems.
To quote the words of Nikolaus Kopernikus in 1517, “The greatest and most forbidding mistake has to be when a ruler tries to make a profit from the minting of coins by introducing and circulating new coins, with an inferior weight and fineness, alongside the originals and claims that they are both of equal value...” These words should have been remembered a hundred years further down the line.
The so-called “Kipper and Wipper period” saw the highest inflation in the history of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The start of the Thirty Years’ War marked the beginning of a drastic deterioration in the quality of coins in Central Europe, which lasted until 1623. The origin of this financial and economic crisis, however, is to be found some decades before this.
New coins were then minted by adding copper to the silver that was extracted from these coins. The profit made by reminting coins in this way was so enticing that the silver content of the coins was further and further reduced, until pure copper coins eventually came onto the market.
Trade and transport picked up as a result of the increased volume of cash in circulation. Economic output rose, but the prices of individual products also went up rapidly. Those who had the opportunity to pass on the price rises to their customers did just that. Those receiving a fixed income, such as teachers or pensioners, no longer had enough money to live on.