(sold for $108.0)

1622, Silesia, Schweidnitz (City), Ferdinand II. Silver Kipper 24 Kreuzer Coin.

Mint Year: 1622 Mint Place: Schweidnitz Reference: KM-23 ($385 in VF!). Very Rare! Denomination: Kipper 24  Kreuzer (1/4 Thaler) Condition: Minimal edge-hit at 12 o'clock, struck on a nice and round planchet, otherwise a beautiful about XF for this rare debased issue! Diameter: 28mm Weight: 4.46gm Material: Silver

Obverse: Armored and draped bust of Emperor Ferdinand II right. Legend: * FERD . II . R . IM . S . A . (24) G . H . BO REX . DV . S Reverse: Squared shield with arms of Schweidnitz within foliage. Legend: * GROS DVODECUPL . CIV . SWIDN . 1622

Świdnica (PGerman: Schweidnitz; Czech: Svídnice; Silesian: Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia.

The city's name was first recorded as Svidnica in 1070, when it was part of Piast-ruled Poland. Świdnica became a town in 1250, although no founding document has survived that would confirm this fact. The town belonged at the time to the Duchy of Wrocław, a province of Poland. By 1290, Świdnica had city walls and six gates, crafts and trade were blossoming. At the end of the 13th century, there were guilds of bakers, weavers, potters, shoemakers, furriers and tailors in Świdnica. The city was famous for its beer production. In the late 15th century, almost three hundred houses had the right to brew beer. In various cities of the region (Wrocław, Oleśnica, Brzeg) and Europe (Kraków, Toruń, Prague, Pisa) there were so-called "Świdnica Cellars" – restaurants serving beer from Świdnica. Wrocław's Piwnica Świdnicka exists to this day as the oldest restaurant in Europe. There was also a mint in Świdnica. The Franciscans and Dominicans settled in the city in 1287 and 1291, respectively.

In 1291–1392 Świdnica was the capital of the Piast-ruled Duchy of Świdnica and Jawor. The last Polish Piast duke was Bolko II of Świdnica, and after his death in 1368 the duchy was held by his wife until 1392; after her death it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Bohemia by Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. By the end of the 14th century, Świdnica was already one of the largest cities in Silesia, with about 6,000 inhabitants.

In 1429 the city successfully defended itself against a Hussite attack. From about 1469 to 1490 it was under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary and after that it was part of Jagiellonian-ruled Bohemia. In the 15th century, several mills operated in the city. Large cattle and hop markets took place there. In 1493, the town is recorded by Hartmann Schedel in his Nuremberg Chronicle as Schwednitz.

In 1526, all of Silesia, including Świdnica (as Schweidnitz), came under the rule of the Habsburg Monarchy as part of the surrounding Duchy of Schweidnitz. In the 16th century it was one of the regional centers of Anabaptism. The city suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48) as a result of sieges, fires and epidemics. Schweidnitz was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the First Silesian War (1740–42). The town was turned into a fortress, which it remained until 1866.

It was captured again by Austria in October 1761, during the Third Silesian War, or Seven Years' War, but Prussians retook it one year later. In 1803 the city was visited by Polish jurist, poet, political and military activist Józef Wybicki, best known as the author of the lyrics of the national anthem of Poland. In 1807 the city was captured by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars. It became part of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871 during the unification of Germany and stayed within Germany until the end of World War II.

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (July 9, 1578 – February 15, 1637), of the House of Habsburg, reigned as Ferdinand II, Archduke of Inner Austria (normally called Ferdinand II of Germany when referred to as Archduke) and Holy Roman Emperor from 1619-1637. He was also the Archduke of Styria (Inner Austria) from 1590–1637, King of Bohemia from 1617-1619 and again from 1620-1637, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia from 1618-1625. The expansion of the ongoing acts of rebellion against his Imperial Governors in Bohemia on May 23rd, 1618 directly triggered the Thirty Years' War, and can be blamed on his religious intolerance toward Protestants.

A devout and very pious Catholic, his recognition as King of Bohemia and suppression of Protestantism precipitated the early events of the Thirty Years' War, and he remained one of the staunchest backers of the Anti-Protestant Counter Reformation efforts as one of the heads of the German Catholic League, prolonging the Thirty Years' Wars by insisting the Edict of Restitution be enforced. The duration of his reign was occupied by confessional and military concerns, and some historians blame him for the large civilian loss of life in the Sack of Magdeburg in 1631, as he'd instructed Count Tilly to enforce the edict upon Saxony—his orders causing Tilly to move the Catholic armies east, ultimately to Leipzig, where they suffered their first substantial defeat at First Breitenfeld.

Emperor Matthias died in Vienna in March 1619. As earlier agreed, Ferdinand succeeded him on the throne. Supported by the Catholic League, which included the rulers of Poland, Spain, and Bavaria, Ferdinand sought to reclaim his Bohemian possessions and stamp out the Protestant rebellion. On November 8, 1620, Catholic forces engaged those supporting the Protestant Frederick, who had taken the Bohemian kingship, at the Battle of White Mountain. After only two hours of fighting, the Catholics emerged victorious. The now-deposed Frederick fled to the Netherlands and Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria, the leader of the Catholic League, moved to confiscate his  lands in the Palatinate. The restored Ferdinand set about strengthening  the Catholic church in Bohemia, reduced the authority of the Diet, and  forcibly converted Austrian and Bohemian Protestants.

By 1625, despite receiving subsidies from the Spanish and the Pope,  Ferdinand was strapped for cash and looking for a means to raise his  own army. His solution was to charge the Bohemian soldier and "military  entrepreneur" Albrecht von Wallenstein with raising and commanding an Imperial army. Wallenstein accepted the  position with the proviso that the management (and possession) of the  army's funds were solely his, as was the right to take and distribute  loot and ransoms taken in the course of operations. Quickly raising at  least 30,000 men (he would later command at least 100,000), and  fighting alongside the Catholic League army under the Count of Tilly, Wallenstein defeated Protestant forces in Silesia, Anhalt, and Denmark.

With his forces scoring important victories against the Protestants, Ferdinand crowned his religious policies by issuing his Edict of Restitution (1629), which was designed to restore all ecclesiastical properties which had been secularized since the Peace of Passau in 1552. This blatantly pro-Catholic policy has been widely credited with bringing the Protestant King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, into the war against Ferdinand.

Despite the successes of Wallenstein, many of Ferdinand's advisors  saw a genuine political threat in the general, citing his growing  influence, his increasing number of estates and titles, as well as his  extortionate methods of raising funds for his army. Ferdinand responded  by dismissing Wallenstein in 1630. With the loss of his commander, he  was once again forced to rely on the Catholic League army under Tilly,  who was unable to stem the Swedish advance and was killed in 1632. As a  result, Ferdinand recalled Wallenstein from retirement.

In the spring of 1632, Wallenstein raised a fresh army in a matter  of weeks and drove the Protestant army out of Bohemia. In November came  the great Battle of Lützen,  at which the Catholics were defeated, but Gustavus Adolphus was killed.  Wallenstein withdrew to winter quarters in Bohemia. Although he had  lost strategically and been forced out of Saxony, the Protestants had  suffered much greater casualties.

The campaigning of 1633 was indecisive, partly because Wallenstein  was negotiating with the enemy, thinking that the army would be loyal  to him, rather than Ferdinand, and follow him if he switched sides. In  early 1634, he was openly accused of treason and assassinated at Eger, probably at Ferdinand's instigation.

Despite the loss of Wallenstein, Imperial forces took Regensburg and won a victory at the Battle of Nördlingen. Swedish strength was greatly weakened, but France entered the war on the side of the Protestants out of fear of Habsburg  domination. Although the country was Catholic, France feared both the  Germans and the Spanish, so Cardinal Richelieu convinced King Louis XIII of France to ally himself with the Dutch and the Swedes.

The French were highly dissatisfied with the terms of the Peace of Prague concluded in 1635, the last important act of Ferdinand. Therefore,  although a treaty was signed, peace did not come. At Ferdinand's death  in 1637, his son Ferdinand III inherited an embattled empire.