Strasbourg's civic mint operated with unusual independence through much of the fourteenth century, producing small silver fractions at a time when most Rhenish cities depended on episcopal or territorial lords for their coinage. The so-called Lilienpfennig series encompasses considerable die variation, and the E&L#320 variant designation signals a departure from the principal type — likely in the fleur arrangement or the strike geometry — documented by Engel and Lehr in their foundational study of Alsatian coinage.
At 0.45 g, these were genuinely circulating small change, not prestige issues. Many surviving examples are buckled or clipped, reflecting hard daily use in a prosperous Rhine trading city.
Strasbourg's civic mint operated with unusual independence through much of the fourteenth century, producing small silver fractions at a time when most Rhenish cities depended on episcopal or territorial lords for their coinage. The so-called Lilienpfennig series encompasses considerable die variation, and the E&L#320 variant designation signals a departure from the principal type — likely in the fleur arrangement or the strike geometry — documented by Engel and Lehr in their foundational study of Alsatian coinage.
At 0.45 g, these were genuinely circulating small change, not prestige issues. Many surviving examples are buckled or clipped, reflecting hard daily use in a prosperous Rhine trading city.