Catalog
1 Heller 'Hand heller' - Rupert I
| Issuer | Upper Palatinate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1350-1390 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Götz#1 |
| Obverse description | An open right hand displayed in high relief, fingers pointing upward, centrally positioned within a beaded or dotted border. The hand, characteristic of the so-called 'Handpfennig' or 'Hand Heller' type, is rendered in a bold, stylised manner typical of 14th-century hammered bracteate-influenced coinage. Small pellets are visible in the field flanking the hand at either side. The flan is irregular and slightly scyphate in character, consistent with contemporary hammered silver small coinage of the Upper Palatinate. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A fourfold cross pattée inscribed within a circle, with the arms extending to the inner ring. A pellet is placed at the centre of the cross and additional pellets appear in each of the four quadrants between the cross arms and the enclosing circle. The overall design is geometric and symmetrical, executed in the simple but precise style characteristic of small hammered Heller coinage of the mid-to-late 14th century. The flan edge is irregular, as expected for hand-struck minor silver issues of this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Rupert I ruled the Upper Palatinate from 1353 until his death in 1390, and his heller coinage reflects the fragmented monetary reality of the Holy Roman Empire, where regional princes minted their own small silver for local trade entirely independent of imperial authority. The "Hand heller" designation refers to the open hand device used as a mintmark or identifying symbol, distinguishing Rhenish Palatinate issues within a sea of near-identical low-denomination bracteate-influenced coinage circulating across the German territories in this period.