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1 Heller Hand heller
| Issuer | Frankfurt, Free imperial city of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1492-1503 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Thaler |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A plain Latin cross occupies the center of the field, with a pellet or small dot embellishment at each of the four terminals. The design is stark and unadorned, consistent with the minimalist reverse types common to small-denomination Heller coinage of the Holy Roman Empire in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The hammered flan results in a somewhat uneven, irregular outline around the cross motif. No legend or additional inscription is present on the reverse. |
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| Additional information |
Frankfurt's hand heller took its name from the city's heraldic hand, and the denomination itself descended from the Heller of Schwäbisch Hall — coins so ubiquitous in medieval German trade that "Heller" became a generic term for the smallest unit of account. By the 1490s, Frankfurt's position as a double-fair city gave even its most minor silver fractions genuine circulation weight across the Rhine-Main region. At 0.38 grams, these were struck at the absolute lower threshold of workable silver coinage.