Because he always needed money, he raised taxes and sold towns. He sold the county of Cuylenburg which was the dowry of his wife. The county was sold in 1720. He did not sell it to pay any money he owed to others. It was sold so that a garden and a channel could be built in his palace. In 1723 the Schalkau was sold to the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. At the time, Schalkau had city privileges, and the right to hold a market. What was sold was an administrative division, much like a county, only smaller, which included Schalkau. The sale without the agreement of his wife was illegal. This led to a war with Saxe-Meiningen. At the end of the war, all of the county was ruined.