Augsburg's pattern coinage of the mid-1730s emerged from a broader German imperial debate over standardizing the smallest copper fractions — the Heller being so debased by that point that municipalities were experimenting with alternative metals to restore credibility to minor denominations. Striking a Heller in silver was inherently paradoxical: the metal value would have immediately exceeded the face value at any practical weight.
The two KM references likely distinguish between die variants or edge treatments rather than separate issuing decisions. Augsburg lost its status as a Free Imperial City in 1806, making its late pattern issues terminal experiments from a polity already in decline.
Augsburg's pattern coinage of the mid-1730s emerged from a broader German imperial debate over standardizing the smallest copper fractions — the Heller being so debased by that point that municipalities were experimenting with alternative metals to restore credibility to minor denominations. Striking a Heller in silver was inherently paradoxical: the metal value would have immediately exceeded the face value at any practical weight.
The two KM references likely distinguish between die variants or edge treatments rather than separate issuing decisions. Augsburg lost its status as a Free Imperial City in 1806, making its late pattern issues terminal experiments from a polity already in decline.