A klippe is a square coin minted on more easily produced square flans either using round or square dies. These coins were originally issued under unfavourable conditions, such as a city under

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. Such emergency coins were issued in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1529, while the city was besieged by the troops of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. However, by the seventeenth century, klippe were also commonly produced as presentation pieces, and medals. As well, some klippe coins were made as a regular strikes, such as the many variations of the city of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

in Austria, where klippe coins were made in silver and gold for many centuries.

References

Numismatics {{coin-stub