1 Pfennig 'Elefantenpfennig'

The "Elefantenpfennig" takes its name from the creature on the coin's reverse, which medieval Breisgau die-cutters rendered from secondhand description rather than observation — the result bears only passing resemblance to an actual elephant. This was not uncommon: the animal appears on coins and seals across 13th and 14th century German territories largely through the filter of crusader-era travel accounts and bestiaries. The Landgraviate of Breisgau, wedged between the Rhine and the Black Forest, sat on trade routes that made such exotic imagery fashionable without making the animals themselves any more familiar to local moneyers.