1/4 Siliqua Regular staurogram with triangular ends

The attribution "uncertain Germanic tribes" reflects a genuine scholarly impasse — these tiny silver fractions circulated across a post-Roman western Europe where mint authority was fragmented, record-keeping had collapsed, and multiple successor kingdoms were simultaneously imitating late Roman monetary forms. The staurogram itself predates Christianity's official adoption by the Roman state, originating as a scribal abbreviation for the Greek word for cross before acquiring theological weight.

At 0.40 g, these pieces were already pushing the lower boundary of practical silver coinage. Prolonged use of underweight fractions like this one contributed directly to the monetary chaos that would eventually force Carolingian reformers to abandon the siliqua system entirely.