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1 Heller - John IV
| Issuer | Leuchtenberg, Landgraviate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1487-1531 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by the crowned shield of Leuchtenberg arms, displaying a characteristic pointed-base escutcheon with the heraldic device in relief. Four lilies are arranged around the shield, each with their tops pointing outward toward the coin's periphery. The design is struck on an irregularly shaped flan typical of hammered heller coinage of the late medieval period. No legend or inscription is present; the composition is purely armorial in character. |
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| Reverse description | A plain cross in raised relief occupies the center of the unadorned field, rendered in a simple linear style consistent with late medieval German heller coinage. The cross divides the field into four quadrants, all of which remain entirely plain without any inscription, symbol, or ornamental device. The flan is irregular in shape and shows the characteristic surface texture of hammered silver. No legend is present on this side. |
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| Additional information |
John IV ruled Leuchtenberg during its slow economic contraction — the landgraviate had been selling off territories since the fourteenth century and by the late fifteenth was a minor power clinging to the right to mint its own coinage. This heller represents one of the last gasps of that minting privilege before the dynasty died out entirely in 1646.
At 0.23 g, these were struck at the practical floor of silver coinage. Flan cracks and off-center strikes are the norm rather than the exception.