Frankfurt's hand heller takes its name from the open hand on the die — a mark identifying the city's minting authority during a period when Frankfurt was aggressively defending its imperial minting privileges against encroachment by neighboring territories. The Free City held the right to strike small silver coinage under imperial grant, a prerogative it guarded through repeated legal disputes at the Reichskammergericht throughout the sixteenth century.
At 2.34 grams, this piece sits at the heavier end of surviving examples, suggesting early die use before the inevitable metal-saving drift that afflicts most long-running heller series.
Frankfurt's hand heller takes its name from the open hand on the die — a mark identifying the city's minting authority during a period when Frankfurt was aggressively defending its imperial minting privileges against encroachment by neighboring territories. The Free City held the right to strike small silver coinage under imperial grant, a prerogative it guarded through repeated legal disputes at the Reichskammergericht throughout the sixteenth century.
At 2.34 grams, this piece sits at the heavier end of surviving examples, suggesting early die use before the inevitable metal-saving drift that afflicts most long-running heller series.