1 Blaffert

The blaffert — sometimes spelled "plaffert" in Low German municipal records — was a small northern German silver denomination that emerged as Hanseatic trade cities needed fractional coinage for local market transactions that larger pfennig issues couldn't efficiently serve. Lübeck's 14th-century municipal finances were deeply entangled with the early Hanseatic League's consolidation, and the city's mint output during this period reflects that pressure: high-volume, low-denomination, utilitarian production for a merchant economy running on velocity rather than prestige.