Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann (13 July 1724 – 16 February 1782) was a German-born Danish merchant, banker, politician and nobleman.

[4] Already in July 1758 Schimmelmann leased the mint in Schwerin (Mecklenburg) from Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and started to compete with Ephraim & Itzig.

Early 1761 Schimmelmann leased the mints in Neustrelitz and Rethwisch, Stormarn and ordered Abel Seyler and his partner Johann Martin Tilleman to produce worse coins.

[7] The head of the Danish government, Count von Bernstorff, realized how Schimmelmann's talents as a merchant could benefit the state of Denmark during those times of financial duress.

In cooperation with his business partner Abel Seyler Schimmelmann produced large amounts of coins (so-called Heckmünzen), that were exported to various German states during the war.

The financial situation in Denmark at the time was dire, due to the large army of 20–25.000 soldiers stationed in Holstein, the rearmament following the aggression of Peter III of Russia in 1762, after the death of Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön.

[10] Schimmelmann on his own part benefited from the connection with the Danish government both due to Denmark's neutrality being beneficial for trade, and for reasons of prestige.

Negotiations soon led to Schimmelmann being appointed as second in command to the Danish attaché in Hamburg, and the connection with Denmark was solidified by buying property in Copenhagen and Himmerland.

An advisory board was created in December 1762 with von Schimmelmann as a member, through which he became de facto administrator of Denmark's taxes and deficit.

Besides his duties as overseer of Denmark's taxes, von Schimmelmann also ran his own private business, having bought in March or April 1763 several of the largest Danish sugar plantations in the Danish West Indies,[11] including La Grande Princesse near Christiansted and La Grange at Frederiksted on St. Croix, and a sugar refinery in Copenhagen for 400,000 rigsdaler.

When Schimmelmann sought after a trade surplus, he thought it was especially important for a country like Denmark, where fiat money was the only means of payment.

Due to his many-faceted political influence, Schimmelmann came into close contact with the mentally-ill King Christian VII, with whom he also travelled abroad in 1768.

Even though he in no way cheated the state, this still put him in a bad light During von Schimmelmann's rising influence, Struensee came to power in 1770.

As the insane King's physician, Struensee came to be de facto regent, and deposed many of the statesmen besides Schimmelmann, before finally being overthrown and executed in 1772.

Schimmelmann, however, was still valuable to the new men in power, and so decided to work with the new leaders to salvage what he could of his old policies, as well as securing his own personal business endeavours.

He succeeded beyond all expectations due to the goodwill of Struensee and his fellows, who made him a member of a commission established on 28 December 1770 with the purpose of settling the main economic questions of the day.

In the same year, the Treasury and the College of Commerce were closed down as the state financial system was being restructured to accommodate those in power, so Schimmelmann's influence was diminished.

After Struensee's fall, the King's half-brother Frederick was made Regent, with his mother, Queen Juliana Maria and minister Ove Høegh-Guldberg as de facto rulers.

Formally, his power lay in his position as a member of the Tax Board, and in a seat on an extraordinary financial committee created in October 1772.

Although he still found comfort in his work, it hurt him to see that his high hopes for Denmark's finances were disappointed as the country was hit by inflation, and when A. P. Bernstorff was fired in 1780.

From the first years after moving to Denmark, he gained great honors by saving the country from a dire financial situation, and later exhibiting extraordinary skills in many other areas.