hardly sufficient to maintain life. They had lent thousands of good
Imperial thalers, and now a creditor would pay them on the nail a
thousand thalers in new money. They demanded back their good old money;
they squabbled and laid their complaints before the courts; but the
money which they had received back bore the image of the Sovereign and
the old mark of value; it was legally stamped money, and the debtor
could in justice allege that he had received similar money, both as
interest and capital and for labour. Thus there arose numberless
lawsuits; and the lawyers were in great perplexity. At last the cities
and even the Sovereigns were embarrassed. They had willingly issued the
new money, and many of them had coined it recklessly. But now for all
their taxes and imposts they obtained only bad money, a hundred pounds
of plated copper instead of a hundred pounds of silver, at the same
time everything had become dear, even to them, and a portion of their
expenses had to be paid in good silver. Then the governments attempted
to assist themselves by new frauds. First they endeavoured to retain
the good money by compulsion; now they suddenly lowered the value of
their own money, and again threatened punishment and compulsion to all
who gave less value for it. But the false money still continued to sink
under the regulated value. Then some governments refused to take for
the payment of taxes and imposts, the money of their own country which
they themselves had coined. They declined taking back what they had
stamped in the last year. Now for the first time the people discovered
the whole danger of their position. A general storm broke loose against
the new money; it sank even in daily traffic to a tenth of its nominal
value. The new hedge mints were cried down as nests of the devil; the
mint-masters and their agents, the money-changers, and whoever else
dealt in money concerns, were the general objects of detestation. Then
it was that they obtained in Germany the popular names of _Kipper_ and
_Wipper_. These are Lower Saxon words: _kippen_ comes equally from the
fraudulent weighing, as from the clipping of the money; and _wippen_
from throwing the heavy money out of the scales.[36] Satirical songs
were sung about them; it was supposed that their names were heard in
the call of the quail, and the mob cried out after them "_kippe di
wipp_," as they did "_hep_" after the Jews. In many places the people
combined together and stor