Israel ben Shalom Auerbach was the most significant among the Jewish engravers of the first half of the 17th century. He was a so-called “Muenzjude” and entrusted with minting money by the Imperial Court. In 1616 Auerbach had the distinction of paying the highest taxes of the Jewish community of Vienna. In 1632 he settled in the Hoferische Gruende in dem unteren Werde, later known as District II of Vienna. Eventually the Auerbach family lost its wealth, their house was confiscated and Israel ben Shalom Auerbach died in poverty.