Monetary Paradoxes

That people nowadays become all the poorer the more money they receive. A commentary on hyperinflation: as the quantity of debased coin in circulation increased, its purchasing power plummeted.

That Thomas Müntzer A radical reformer and leader of the German Peasants' War (1524–1525). did less damage with weapons during the Peasants' War than our mint-masters Müntzer: a pun on the name of the rebel leader and the word for "minters" or "moneyers." have done with money.

That nowadays one has no need for blacksmiths or locksmiths to forge bolts and locks against thieves and robbers; for people carry that which makes them poor right in their purses. The author suggests the debased coins are so worthless they aren't worth stealing, or that the currency itself acts as a "thief" by draining the owner's wealth.

That a Machiavellian destroyer of lands is much more pious than a modern, true mint-patron Müntzpatronus: the lord or official who authorized and profited from a debased mint.

That the money-stampers are mere coppersmiths when in the workshop original: "officina", yet in polite society, they carry themselves as noblemen.

That army drummers Heerpaucker: kettle-drummers who signaled troops and money-stampers concern themselves with the same object original: "circa idem objectum". A satirical comparison: both "strike" or "beat" metal—one the drum to lead men to war, the other the coin to lead the economy to ruin.

That while a few people barely become rich from copper, the majority of people become poor because of silver.

That a man must pay three times as much as before for an ell A traditional unit of measurement for cloth, roughly the length of a man's arm. of fabric, and yet he is not being cheated by the shopkeeper. Because the price increase is due to the falling value of the currency, not the greed of the merchant.

That the current monetary system makes people "good Lutherans"; for they must accept it on faith alone A satirical reference to the Lutheran doctrine of Sola Fide (Faith Alone); the coins have so little intrinsic value that one must simply "believe" they are worth something to a ruler Potentat. that it could ever make a sovereign wealthy.

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